God cares how we treat people.

Have we not all one Father? Has not one God created us? Why then are we faithless to one another, profaning the covenant of our fathers?

Malachi 2:10

How we treat other people is a direct reflection on our relationship with God. These three questions in this verse press into that truth. The first two questions are rhetorical. Yes… there is one God Who is our Father. Yes… that one God is also our Creator. Because of this truth, we must deal with the way in which we worship this God Who created us. We answer to an almighty Creator God.

The third, longer question is the heart of this section of Malachi’s message. Judah had become dismissive of God, not in terms of an official theology, but with a practical reality. They officially still believed God, kept a temple going, and went through the motions of sacrifice there. However, men were blatantly disobeying God, divorcing their Jewish wives and then marrying foreign women (perhaps pagan temple prostitutes) and then embracing idolatry while still culturally showing up at the Jerusalem temple with meager sacrifices to Yahweh. They profaned God by profaning the way they treated their families. God would not stand for this!

If I love God I will obey Him. If I obey God I will truly love people that are made in God’s image. I will honor my commitments to people… to family… to friends… and to my community. Anything less than this is lip-service and displeases God. God cares about how we care for others!