The Curse of Misplaced Priorities - December 22, Readings: Haggai 1-2, Jonah 1–3, Revelation 12, Psalm 145:10–16, Proverbs 31:7–9

Link to Today's Readings

As we read the little book of Haggai, we are also reading the book of Revelation. The last book of the Bible is argued about and debated, but it teaches a couple of indisputable truths. It reminds us that this world and everything in it has an expiration date and that in spite of what we may see and feel, God wins and this world will end with Jesus as Lord and evil utterly defeated. Haggai reminds us to live today with priorities that recognize the reality of those truths. It makes no sense to invest our lives in that which is doomed to destruction.

If you see a house on fire, you don't run into it hide all your valuables there, do you? You remove them! You try to salvage what you can. In the same way, as Jesus said, we ought to store up treasures in heaven because whatever we invest in here on earth is going to rust, mold or burn.

A youth pastor I knew gave the best illustration of life I ever heard. He rented a limousine and took his small youth group out for a night on the town (in Cedar Rapids). He took them to a fancy restaurant, to museums, to all kinds of expensive places. Finally, he took them to the gates of Mt. Trashmore, Cedar Rapids' dump. He said, "Everything you saw today ends up here." Wow.

That's how we live our lives, isn't it? We devote ourselves to this world, which is destined to be destroyed, while we ignore the things of God. It is the worst investment decision any of us could ever make.

Haggai was a prophet to the people of Israel who had returned from exile in Babylon. They had come back to the land with the intent of rebuilding the Temple and reestablishing the worship of Yahweh. But, of course, they first had to erect places that they could live in and walls to protect them. Suddenly, it was many years later and they were living in comfort while the Temple still lay in ruins. They continually procrastinated. "The time has not come for the house of the Lord to be rebuilt." (Haggai 1:2).

God's patience with this procrastination was at an end, and he sent Haggai to warn the people, "Think carefully about your ways." They were living with (borrowing from Revelation 18) Babylonian priorities. There minds were on their own comfort and convenience and they cared little for the things of God.

There are consequences to that. We could call it the Curse of Misplaced Priorities. When we invest ourselves in this world, we bring certain natural consequences, designed by God, upon our lives. Look at what God said through Haggai in 1:6.

You have planted much but harvested little.
You eat but never have enough to be satisfied.
You drink but never have enough to become drunk.
You put on clothes but never have enough to get warm.
The wage earner puts his wages into a bag with a hole in it.”

There is an inverse proportion principle at work in the kingdom of God. Jesus mentioned it often. "He who saves his life will lose it, but he who loses his life for my sake will save it." What you seek is not what you get. "Seek first the kingdom and all these things will be added to you as well. Here, the more you invest in your own life, the less you will have of peace, satisfaction and  contentment.

The  less you focus on your own things and give attention the things of God, the more you receive of peace, satisfaction and contentment.

There are five statements there that describe the dissatisfaction, frustration and futility of the life with misplaced priorities. 

• No matter how much work you do, there is little return (eternally) on your investment. In the kingdom, a grain of mustard seed moves mountain. With misplaced priorities, we can barely move the mustard seed!
• The next three speak to satisfaction and contentment. When you invest in this world, it's never enough. Ever eaten a meal so good that you didn't want to eat again for a month? Of course not. The things of this world never satisfy for more than a moment. You eat, but its not enough. You drink, but you want more. You put on clothes, but you are still cold. This world offers fun and good times, but not satisfaction. 
• Finally, misplaced priorities produce lost opportunity - what might have been. You stick money in a bag, but the bag has a hole. The money goes away and you don't get to enjoy it. You had it all, but you squandered it. I hate writing this, because boy-oh-boy have I been there! But it is a marker of misplaced priorities that you squander the opportunities and blessings that God gives you. 

There is a solution, though. Build the house of God. In the OT, that was a building on a hill just above the City of David to the north. But we are the Temple of the Living God today - both individually and as a church. We need to build the church and we need to build our lives as sanctuaries of God's presence. Cleanse it. Honor God's presence. Make the sacrifice (well, honor the one Christ made) and devote yourself to the service of God. 

Father, I have seen so much of the Curse of Misplaced Priorities in my life - work without return, dissatisfaction and lost opportunity. Cleanse my heart as your sacrifice. I thank you for the sacrifice made for me once for all by Christ. Consecrate me, Lord, for your service.