Is God going to reject me because I’m handicapped?
Question:
Is it true, based on Malachi, that if a person is too disabled, then God can't accept that person because God is so holy that a person who is damaged goods is actually forced to spend eternity in hell because they don't have the capabilities required by God?
In the story where the person gave the diseased animals. What happens if the farmer is doing so poorly that all they have are diseased animals?
I actually heard sermons about that they suggest putting yourself into the stories. I know if I put myself into that story it would be a case where I was such a failure as a farmer that I only have the crippled animals period.
From what I read in the Old Testament, if I lived during that time, my parents would either have me killed or they would have me put away from society altogether because of my struggles because, in those times, they accepted handicapped people even less than today. In fact, when I grew up, there were many times, my parents could have had me committed to a mental institution if they wanted to go that far.
Answer:
"Then Moses said to the LORD, "O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before nor since You have spoken to Your servant; but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue." So the LORD said to him, "Who has made man's mouth? Or who makes the mute, the deaf, the seeing, or the blind? Have not I, the LORD?" (Exodus 4:10-11).
God called Moses to lead his people out of Egypt, but Moses saw himself as inadequate and damaged goods. What Moses forgot is that God picked him for who he was and he was that way because God had use for him.
Perhaps the blind man Jesus encountered wondered for much of his life why he was born blind. Jesus' disciples were certainly curious. "Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth. And His disciples asked Him, saying, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" Jesus answered, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him" " (John 9:1-3). His blindness was not a punishment. He was prepared in advance to allow God to demonstrate His power. As the story unfolds, the man who once was blind gave one of the most solid testimonies that Jesus must be the Christ -- and this from a man who just recently met Jesus.
I wrote a sermon, "Does God Make the Handicapped?", a while back and discussed the fact that with any one individual, we often don't know why they are in the state they are. There can be numerous reasons. But one thing I do know is that each person has the ability to contribute to making this world a better place.
From God's viewpoint, our outward container doesn't matter. He wants us to be holy and righteous, like Himself. It is the soul that God is interested in. Now because of that, it is wrong for a person to think he can live a sinful life and then go and worship God and somehow God will be pleased by the worship. "What right has My beloved in My house when she has done many vile deeds? Can the sacrificial flesh take away from you your disaster, so that you can rejoice?" (Jeremiah 11:15).
When God was scolding the Israelites in Malachi, it was about their attitude that was shown through their actions. "You are presenting defiled food upon My altar. But you say, 'How have we defiled You?' In that you say, 'The table of the LORD is to be despised.' But when you present the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? And when you present the lame and sick, is it not evil? Why not offer it to your governor? Would he be pleased with you? Or would he receive you kindly?" says the LORD of hosts" (Malachi 1:7-8). They were not interested in giving their best. They only wanted to give what they didn't desire.
What if a person didn't have anything good to give God under the Old Law? God asked people to give the best that they had. If they didn't have much, provisions were made that they offer inexpensive items as a substitute. God never asked people to give what they didn't have. "For if the readiness is present, it is acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have" (II Corinthians 8:12).
But don't mix up what a person offers with who he is. When you go before God, you should strive to be the best person you can be according to God's teachings. It doesn't matter that you have a handicap. You can still be a good man, striving to please God. God is not going to reject you because of your handicap because you are the man God made you to be. Yes, it causes your hardships, but those hardships have molded you into a stronger man.
And by the way, under Israel's laws, handicapped people were not killed. The poor, the weak, and the handicapped were all expected to be taken care of by God's people. "Thus has the LORD of hosts said, 'Dispense true justice and practice kindness and compassion each to his brother; and do not oppress the widow or the orphan, the stranger or the poor; and do not devise evil in your hearts against one another'" (Zechariah 7:9-10).
