Readings for today: Haggai 1-2
I once had neighbors who tried to have it all. They both held lucrative jobs that paid six figures annually but caused them to travel most of the year. Their two kids were in competitive sports which held practices before and after school almost every day. Weekends were spent traveling to games all over the country. They rarely took a season off. They had a beautiful home they rarely slept in. Two new cars they rarely drove. They had so little time left over for friends or family or even each other. Sadly, it came as no surprise that they were soon divorced and their kids estranged. Their home sold. Their possessions divided. Both of them relocating to different parts of the country to start over.
I was reminded of their story when I read these words from Haggai today, “Now, therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider your ways. You have sown much, and harvested little. You eat, but you never have enough; you drink, but you never have your fill. You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm. And he who earns wages does so to put them into a bag with holes.” (Haggai 1:5-6) I meet people all the time who fall into this trap. They chase the world’s promises only to end up running on empty. They spend their lives acquiring possessions. Achieving success at all costs. Moving up the corporate ladder. Allowing their kids’ activities to eat up all of their extra time. The results are not pretty. Divorce. The breakdown of the family. A deep sense of isolation and loneliness. Superficial friendships. And definitely no room for God.
Haggai calls us to a different way. He calls us to put God first. To honor God with our time and our talent and our treasure. To give God the firstfruits of our labors not the leftovers. “Thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider your ways. Go up to the hills and bring wood and build the house, that I may take pleasure in it and that I may be glorified, says the Lord. You looked for much, and behold, it came to little. And when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why? declares the Lord of hosts. Because of my house that lies in ruins, while each of you busies himself with his own house. Therefore the heavens above you have withheld their dew, and the earth has withheld its produce. And I have called for a drought on the land and the hills, on the grain, the new wine, the oil, on what the ground brings forth, on man and beast, and on all their labors.” (Haggai 1:7-11) This passage isn’t really about the Temple. God doesn’t need us to build Him a home. It’s not like God lacks a place to live. What this is really about is the priority of our hearts. Do we put God first? Are we willing to take care of the things He cares about before we take care of the things we care about? Is He number one in our lives or is that just lip service? Do we order our lives around His ways and His commands or do we take Him for granted?
All of us have a chance today to “consider our ways.” All of us have an opportunity to sit down with our schedules and our bank statements and evaluate where we spend our time and money. All of us can take stock of where we put our energy and talent and resources. Do we spend time with God every day? Do we gather in person with God’s people every week? Are we building deep, spiritually friendships with those we love? Have we set apart time to serve Christ in His mission in the world? These questions serve as a kind of diagnostic that reveals the truest desires of our hearts.
Readings for tomorrow: Zechariah 1-7