Unwanted Gifts
Anyone else have a cat that brings unwanted gifts to the doorstep? It is not so bad to find a dead mouse, mole, or snake outside by the threshold, but it can be absolutely terrifying when the cat brings a LIVING mouse, mole, or snake INSIDE the house! The other day, our cat got into a nest of baby rabbits and jumped in through the kitchen window to play with her gift under the kitchen table. That got my wife a little bit excited. What got my wife REALLY excited was a few days later when we noticed a subtle stench in our bedroom that only got worse the next day. Long story short, my wife cleaned most everything out from under the bed but left the cat’s gifted baby bunny for me to clean up when I got home. The sight was just about as bad as the odor.
Now we all understand that this is how our cat is showing her love for us. She thinks that by bringing her victims home, we will all be impressed with her hunting endeavors and be thrilled to have extra food for the whole family to share. Our cat does not understand two things. First, that we should not need to praise her for her hunting success. Hunting is her work and it is to be expected, not rewarded. And second, that we do not eat mice, moles, snakes, or baby bunnies, fur and all. These gifts brought into the house might make the cat happy and make her feel fulfilled, but as far as my wife is concerned, they are nothing more than unwanted gifts.
I wonder if that is what God thinks of the treasures and gifts that we work so hard to accumulate and foolishly think that they are for His glory. What does God think when we get to the end of our lives here on earth and bring our worldly accomplishments before Him? What will God think of our dream home on a hill? What will God think of the tens of thousands of hay bales we made or the thousands of cattle we accumulated? Will God be impressed with our kids all raised up to have good paying jobs? What will God do with our sports car, speed boat, or the cruises we took all over the world? Do you think God will be impressed with our worldly accomplishments? I think He will be about as impressed with these as my wife is with our cat’s unwanted gifts. What then does God want from us?
“With what shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself before the High God? Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?” Micah 6:6-8