Good morning, church family! Today, we're diving into an important message from the book of Haggai, one that reminds us to continually assess our priorities, analyze our actions, and act on God's Word.
As C.S. Lewis once wrote, "Put first things first and we get second things thrown in: put second things first and we lose both first and second things." This is the heart of our message today.
Our scripture reading for today comes from Haggai 1:5-15: "Now this is what the Lord Almighty says: 'Give careful thought to your ways. You have planted much, but harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it.' This is what the Lord Almighty says: 'Give careful thought to your ways. Go up into the mountains and bring down timber and build my house, so that I may take pleasure in it and be honored,' says the Lord. 'You expected much, but see, it turned out to be little. What you brought home, I blew away. Why?' declares the Lord Almighty. 'Because of my house, which remains a ruin, while each of you is busy with your own house. Therefore, because of you the heavens have withheld their dew and the earth its crops. I called for a drought on the fields and the mountains, on the grain, the new wine, the olive oil and everything else the ground produces, on people and livestock, and on all the labor of your hands.' Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, Joshua son of Jozadak, the high priest, and the whole remnant of the people obeyed the voice of the Lord their God and the message of the prophet Haggai, because the Lord their God had sent him. And the people feared the Lord. Then Haggai, the Lord’s messenger, gave this message of the Lord to the people: 'I am with you,' declares the Lord. So the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua son of Jozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of the whole remnant of the people. They came and began to work on the house of the Lord Almighty, their God, on the twenty-fourth day of the month, in the sixth month, in the second year of Darius the king."
The first point we need to consider is the idea of assessing our priorities. This is a critical aspect of our spiritual journey, and it's something that the people in Haggai's time struggled with, just as we often do today. When we talk about priorities, we're talking about the things that matter most to us, the things that we place at the top of our list of importance. These are the things that we devote our time, energy, and resources to.
In the passage from Haggai, the people of Israel had misplaced their priorities. They were focused on their own homes, their own comfort, and their own prosperity. They were planting much but harvesting little because they were not putting God first. They were eating and drinking, but never having their fill because they were not satisfying their spiritual hunger and thirst. They were earning wages, but their purses had holes in them because they were not investing in the kingdom of God.
This is a powerful reminder for us today. How often do we find ourselves in a similar situation? How often do we focus on our own needs, our own desires, our own ambitions, while neglecting our relationship with God? How often do we invest our time, energy, and resources in things that do not satisfy, that do not bring lasting fulfillment?
Assessing our priorities means taking a hard look at where we are investing our lives. It means asking ourselves tough questions. Are we seeking first the kingdom of God, as Jesus instructed us in Matthew 6:33? Or are we seeking first our own kingdom, our own comfort, our own prosperity?
Assessing our priorities also means looking at our actions, not just our intentions. We may say that God is our top priority, but do our actions reflect that? Are we spending time in prayer and in God's Word? Are we serving others in love? Are we giving generously to the work of the kingdom?
This is not about legalism or trying to earn God's favor. It's about aligning our lives with God's will, about seeking first His kingdom and His righteousness. It's about living in a way that reflects our love for God and our desire to honor Him in all that we do.
Assessing our priorities is a process, not a one-time event. It's something we need to do regularly, as we navigate the ups and downs of life. It's something we need to do in community, as we encourage and challenge each other to live for God.
We all struggle with this. We all have times when we lose sight of what's truly important, when we get caught up in the busyness and distractions of life. But God, in His grace, always calls us back. He always invites us to reassess our priorities, to realign our lives with His will.
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