So you will again see the difference between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve Him.     Malachi 3:18 HCSB

Israel was criticizing the Lord. They were pretending to grieve for their sins but were not truly sorry. They felt as though those who were arrogant and not serving the Lord or those who were wicked were prospering. In verses 16-17, it says the Lord took notice of them and listened to them and wrote a special book of remembrance for those who feared Him and had high regard for Him. He explained to them that on the day He was preparing, He would have compassion on them. This may have been a reference to the “Book of Life”.

He refers to the wicked as those who did not serve Him. In verse 15 they are described as arrogant; the King James version calls them proud. They are described as happy or as prospering. We see it all the time, don’t we? We see wicked people get away with the evil things they do. We see them seemingly doing well.

But Jesus tells us that we will see a difference between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve Him and those who do not.

If someone did nothing for you but was always asking you to do things for them, you would consider that person to be arrogant, wouldn’t you? They would be treating you as a servant. Now I’m not talking about someone paying you to do a job, I’m talking about an acquaintance who always asks for your time and energy maybe even borrows money but is never able to help you out when you are in need.

So, don’t you think it’s arrogant of us to ask God to help us when we are in need if we are unwilling to serve Him? Think about this one for a minute. Serving God isn’t just going to church it means serving Him. It means showing up and taking part in ministries in your church. In our church we have a food pantry, we do outreaches in the community where we hand out hot meals or school supplies. We have areas where people can work.

God didn’t just put us here for decoration, He put us here to work for Him. If we truly love the Lord, we want to serve the Lord. We are eager to do His will. Jesus said in Matthew 7:21 that only those who do the will of His Father in heaven will enter the kingdom. Are you doing God’s will in your life?

You don’t have to be a pastor or a Sunday School teacher to have a ministry. You just need to do what God called you to do. God gives conditional promises to those who serve Him. We are promised in Romans 8:28 that those who love the Lord and are serving Him will have all things work out for their good. If you are going through hard times, keep loving and serving Him and He will work it out for you.

We are promised His protection in Psalm 91:1 if we choose to abide in His shelter.

Serving God is a choice, but in Malachi 3:14-18, the term arrogant or proud is used for those who choose not to serve Him. That’s pretty strong words coming from God since we know He hates pride. We are told in Proverbs 16:18 that pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit goes before a fall.

It may look like those who are wicked or are not serving the Lord are getting away with it and even doing well, but their day is coming. God will judge between the wicked and the righteous.

If you are not serving Him, you are being arrogant, I’m sorry but that’s all there is to it. If you are living your life thinking it’s all about what God can do for you, you might want to rethink that. It’s all about what we can do for Him. We are told in Matthew 6:33 that we must seek Him and His righteousness. When we do this, He takes care of our needs.

I’ve recently seen a post on social media that says we want to go to God’s mansion in heaven but refuse to go to his house while here on earth. It’s arrogant to think we can do this. It’s also arrogant to think we can live a life without serving Him. We all have a purpose here on earth. Draw near to God and pray that He will show you what that is and get busy doing it.

Have a great day!