The prophet Haggai proclaimed God’s message to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest. He spoke to them about the Lord’s house that they were supposed to have built.
"Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, This people say, The time is not come, the time that the Lord’s house should be built. Then came the word of the Lord by Haggai the prophet, saying, Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in your ceiled houses, and this house lie waste? Now therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts; Consider your ways. Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes. Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Consider your ways. Go up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build the house; and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, saith the Lord. Ye looked for much, and, lo, it came to little; and when ye brought it home, I did blow upon it. Why? saith the Lord of hosts. Because of mine house that is waste, and ye run every man unto his own house. Therefore the heaven over you is stayed from dew, and the earth is stayed from her fruit." (Haggai 1:2-10).
Instead of doing as God desired these people had gone about doing what they desired and what they thought was needful. God was not pleased with his people.
Are we putting the kingdom first in all that we do? It was Jesus who said, "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof" (Matthew 6:33-34).
The people, to whom Haggai was talking, had not been seeking to take care of the thing of God before they took care of themselves. Do we find that our desires seem to push what God wants to the side? God has given us many blessings, families, jobs, health, etc., But we must always remember from whom the blessing come and not put them before God; consider your ways.
In our world there are more than seven billion souls, and only a little more than a million of them are Christians. How many people do each of us come in contact with each and every day, and how many of them are not Christians? Are we seeking ways that we can influence them to seek God? Do our lives shine as lights to show them the way?
"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven" Matthew 5:16).
Are we equipped to study the Bible with someone in an effective manner? If we are not, could it be because we have let self overcome the need we have to learn how to do personal work? God’s word tells us, "And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also" (2 Timothy 2:2); consider your ways.
Those to whom Haggai wrote had failed to receive all the blessings that God had in store for them. Could it be that our lives are not what they could be because we also have failed in putting God first in our lives? How many worries would be gone? How many nights of sleeplessness could be avoided? How many strong, courageous Christians would be able to go into the world and bring the lost to God? Consider your ways.