“Now this is what the LORD Almighty says: ‘Give careful thought to your ways. You have planted much, but have 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.’”
–Haggai 1:5-6
Obviously, this scripture has absolutely NO relevance or application to our lives today [note: overt sarcasm here]. You and I live in the most affluent, fast-paced, product-oriented place and time in human history. We’ve all planted much, but have you ever felt like the fruits of our frenzy just leave us feeling more depleted? Like you’ve got holes in your money purse?
“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 his own house.”
–Haggai 1:9
Now, let’s be practical here: Does God really need us yahoos to build Him a house? I mean, really? Is there any way we can improve on his address in Heaven? So why the hang-up on this point?
I think this has little to do with what God needs and a lot to do with what we need. We were created to love and serve our Creator, to give ourselves away and build His Kingdom, not our own. Anything that takes us away from this purpose will malnourish us; and so God gives us warning—don’t try to fill up on the empty things. God is always interested in us building stuff that lasts.
Today, let’s give careful thought to our ways and consider, “Whose house am I busy building?”
In light of Ken's sermon last week…"God is much more interested in what our faith DOES rather than what it AVOIDS…" instead of focusing on the houses that I shouldn't be building, what houses should I be busy building for His kingdom? I feel like it's easier for me to name the "bad" houses that take me away from his purpose, the "bad" houses that leave me still empty. What are practical real life applications of kingdom-like houses? (The first things to pop in my head are in previous verses like caring for orphans and widows … but who ARE they in my life? I don't really feel like God is calling me to a third world country right now just to follow James 1:27) While these questions may seem rhetorical, I wouldn't mind any counsel from those reading! :)
ReplyDeleteAudrey the widows and orphans are all around you. You are right you don't need to move to a third world country to have an active faith. Ask God to open your eyes to the needs around you and you will be amazed at what you see.
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