SKEWED PRIORITIES
In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai the prophet to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest: “Thus says the Lord of hosts: These people say the time has not yet come to rebuild the house of the Lord.” Then the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai the prophet, “Is it a time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, while this house lies in ruins? 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.
“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 the 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 1:1-11
They filled the cistern with water and shortly thereafter it was empty. Again and again they repeated the process only to have it go dry soon after it was filled. What was the problem? They had their priorities totally backwards. They needed to fix the leak in the cistern first and then fill it instead of doing the same thing over and over again with the same undesired results, wasting time, energy and resources.
In the verses above this is exactly how life was being lived. The people were doing the same thing over and over again with the same undesired results. They were focused on their own lives—building nice houses for themselves, seeking to provide food and drink for their families, seeking to clothe their families, but the wages they earned never seemed to be enough. Life was only about family focus. My family, my family, my family was the priority…NOT THE LORD GOD ALIMIGHTY AND HIS DESIRES! He was not their first priority relationship!
People wonder why they are not fulfilled and content. It is because the Lord God Almighty is not first in their lives. They may say that He is first, but have they talked with Him recently? Have they listened to His Word recently? Have they fellowshipped with God’s people recently— not just on Sunday morning? Have they shared the gospel with someone recently? Do they truly love God as first priority in their lives? Do they love their neighbor as themselves? Are they seeking to please the Lord God Almighty above all else? This is the call to us! May we be faithful.
Dear Father, help me to be the person You desire me to be in the Lord Jesus. Then, may I also be about the business that You desire of me in the power of the Holy Spirit. May it be so!