Ever have a time when you felt like everything in life was upside down? Have you ever had a time when everything sat just right? How about this – have you ever had a time when everything fit comfortably then found out it was all upside down? I believe it’s easier than we think to end up in that place. It’s also uncomfortable to confront the realities of inverted priorities.
Israel went through such a time (more than once!). At one point in their history, they had gotten used to the idea that the rebuilding of the temple would not be completed. Legistlation had been passed against it and, 18 years later, people were still saying, “It’s not time”.
Haggai 1:2-6 “This is what the Lord Almighty says: “These people say, ‘The time has not yet come for the Lord’s house to be built.’ ” 3 Then the word of the Lord came through the prophet Haggai: 4 “Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses, while this house remains a ruin?”
5 Now this is what the Lord Almighty says: “Give careful thought to your ways. 6 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.”
The main point here is that when we live with inverted priorities, life doesn’t satisfy as it should. It doesn’t mean their purses literally had holes in them. Life just didn’t work as it should. There is an overall sense of lack – something missing – something incomplete.
So what do we do? We get busier, we buy more stuff, we pursue human relationships. But if we don’t have God as our first priority, the others don’t have lasting satisfaction.
When Israel responded by working on the restoration of the temple, God spoke of a change in their life condition and promised fulfillment and blessing.
Ask yourself, “Are my priorities inverted in some way? Is God my first and primary focus in life? Am I trying to fill a purse with holes in it?”
What’s up, Doc? Is the right thing on the upside of your life?
