Misplaced Priorities

On the heels of my last blog post God's Order... My Chaos, I read in Haggai yesterday morning about priorities. 

Do you ever feel like your running on a treadmill... doing something, but getting no where? I think that is just how the Isrealites were feeling during the time of Haggai's ministry. They weren't necessarily doing bad (evil) things. They were looking after the affairs of their house and job, but when those things become "The Thing", then everything else in life falls apart. 

In the busyness of life I sometimes have to remind myself if the only thing I accomplish in a day is quiet time with God, than I've accomplished a great deal. The funny thing is... rarely do I have days where that is the only thing I accomplish.  When I set apart time with God I find I am more energized to accompolish the rest of my to do list or at the very least I am able to respond to the bumps in the road with a better attitude and perspective.

In the following passage (Haggai 1:2-11), God is speaking to His people through the prophet Haggai about their misplaced priorities.  It's a lengthy passage, but I really can't say it any better than God already did...

A Message from God-of-the-Angel-Armies: “The people procrastinate. They say this isn’t the right time to rebuild my Temple, the Temple of God.”

Shortly after that, God said more and Haggai spoke it: “How is it that it’s the ‘right time’ for you to live in your fine new homes while the Home, God’s Temple, is in ruins?”

And then a little later, God-of-the-Angel-Armies spoke out again:

“Take a good, hard look at your life.
Think it over.
You have spent a lot of money,
but you haven’t much to show for it.
You keep filling your plates,
but you never get filled up.
You keep drinking and drinking and drinking,
but you’re always thirsty.
You put on layer after layer of clothes,
but you can’t get warm.
And the people who work for you,
what are they getting out of it?
Not much—
a leaky, rusted-out bucket, that’s what.

That’s why God-of-the-Angel-Armies said:

“Take a good, hard look at your life.
Think it over.”

 

Then God said:

“Here’s what I want you to do:
Climb into the hills and cut some timber.
Bring it down and rebuild the Temple.
Do it just for me. Honor me.
You’ve had great ambitions for yourselves,
but nothing has come of it.
The little you have brought to my Temple
I’ve blown away—there was nothing to it.

“And why?” (This is a Message from God-of-the-Angel-Armies, remember.) “Because while you’ve run around, caught up with taking care of your own houses, my Home is in ruins. That’s why. Because of your stinginess. And so I’ve given you a dry summer and a skimpy crop. I’ve matched your tight-fisted stinginess by decreeing a season of drought, drying up fields and hills, withering gardens and orchards, stunting vegetables and fruit. Nothing—not man or woman, not animal or crop—is going to thrive.”   

 

~Taken from The Message Bible

 

Be encourged... God wants your best, so take time out of your day to spend with Him.  He wants to be in active fellowship with you.