sloppy seconds

Hosea 10:1-12; Psalm 105 Seek always the face of the Lord; Matthew 10:1-7

Hosea has an interesting perspective for us all. The opening lines of today's first reading should not be overlooked or quickly browsed.

"Israel is a luxuriant vine whose fruit matches its growth. The more abundandt his fruit, the more altars he built; the more productive hsi land, the more sacred pillars he set up. Their heart is false..."


The people of Hosea's time was letting their prosperity determine their faithfulnes. They would judge their loyalty and faithfulness to God based on the productivity of the land or the money in their hands.

Rather than letting God's faithfulness determine their faithfulness, they let money and wealth determine it.

They would give only if they had.

Thus their heart was false.

How often do we do this? How often is our life and love to God fueled by prosperity and wealth and material things?

How often do we base our giving to God only on what we have been given?

Our loyalty to God should not be judged by the money in our hands or the wealth of our bank account or the size of our house or even the extent that we have a job.

We should be loyal period.

This is why Hosea goes on to say we should seek justice and sow real piety. This must be first not second nor an after thought once we are financially secure.

"Sow justice and reap the fruit of real piety."

Our faith, our trust in God, our reaching out to him in the life we live, our surrender of all we have to him, our tithe no matter the amount we have in the bank, all of it must be given to him, first and foremost.

No one wants sloppy seconds; niether does God want sloppy seconds. He deserves better!

Examine your life today! How often is God getting the scraps under the table after we have gorged ourself on delightful dishes? How often do we give him the time that remains rather then the first offering of the day? How often is he just a filler or a second thought rather than the mainstay of our life, attitude, conversation, and thinking.

"reap the fruit of piety...As the Psalmist tells us today, "Look to the Lord in his trength; seek to serve him constantly" and as you go forth into your daily grind of living be sure to proclaim by the lifestyle you embrace, "the kingdom of heaven is at hand."