Consider Your Ways

After seven decades of expulsion from the promised land, God had providentially allowed His covenant people to return. As they crested the hill upon which their beloved Jerusalem sat, tears streamed down their faces as they witnessed the heap of rubble that was once a jewel of the world. They walked over the debris that used to be the city’s fortifying wall and made their way to the temple—or what was left of it. Saddened but unfazed, the returned exiles vowed they would rebuild. If Yahweh had allowed them back into the promised land, He would provide for the reconstruction of His temple. 

Before long, cedar from Tyre and Sidon had been procured (just as it had been in Solomon’s day), and the work began. However, the Jews’ initial fervor and enthusiasm soon cooled, and the temple sat unfinished for fifteen years. Whenever anyone would try to get the ball rolling again, they would hear the same refrain: “The time has not come for the house of the Lord to be rebuilt” (Hag. 1:2). Meanwhile, the people found plenty of time to rebuild their own houses and make them quite nice. That’s when God spoke to them through the prophet Haggai. His message can be summed up in three words: “Consider your ways!” (Hag. 1:5, 7 nasb). 

When we understand the original context of a passage of Scripture and how it would have landed on the ears of the original hearers, the Holy Spirit also sheds light on how the Word applies to our modern context. Haggai’s message is no exception. So though I doubt you’re a returned exile from the land of Babylon, I invite you to “consider your ways” along with me. 

Consider Your Purpose

What was wrong with the Jews building beautiful houses for themselves? Is Haggai advocating for a form of asceticism? Is he telling us that we should devote our funds to building a church instead of our own houses? These are all valid questions, but, as Samuel learned the day he anointed David, they’re far too concerned with the “outward appearance” rather than the heart (1 Sam. 16:7).

The problem the Jews needed to confront was one of telos—of their ultimate purpose. Put more simply, they needed to “think carefully” about why God had let them back into the land. What were they doing there? They were living proof that God would be true to His covenant—He would bring a remnant back into the land and raise a “shoot” from the stump of Jesse (Isa. 11:1). Their very presence pointed to God’s faithfulness—and, like us, they were meant to point to the glory and goodness of God.

So it is for you and me. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 10 that in “whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God” (v. 31). Jesus expressed a related principle in His Sermon on the Mount: 

“Don’t store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves don’t break in and steal.” (Matthew 6:19–20)

We too must first think carefully about how we’re fulfilling the purpose we’ve been given. How are you investing in eternity? How are you intentionally putting God’s attributes on display for the watching world? Are you living just like the “Gentiles,” or are you shining like a well-lit city on a hill (Matt. 5:14)?

Consider Your Time

As we spend time thinking about how we’re fulfilling our purpose, let’s next take stock of how we spend our time. Unlike most commodities, time is distributed evenly. Each of us receives 1,440 minutes each day, roughly one thousand when adjusted for sleep. How do you spend your minutes? 

If we’re not careful, they can slip by far too easily. Fifteen years had passed since the Israelites stopped working on the temple. Somewhere along the way, rebuilding God’s house had fallen down their list of priorities. They had become comfortable and complacent, and a decade and a half had gone by without them noticing. 

We’ve all experienced the same phenomenon, whether it’s a half-hour that zipped by while you were scrolling on your phone or a kid who seemed to grow up right before your eyes. Our minutes, days, months, and years go by quickly. Consider carefully how you’re using them. What are your minutes ultimately accomplishing? Are they being spent on earthbound, temporal things—or on what has eternal value?

Consider Your Treasure

Somehow, in the intervening years, the wood amassed from Tyre and Sidon had disappeared. Now the people would have to “go up into the hills [and] bring down lumber” (Hag. 1:8). While Scripture is silent on where the earmarked wood went, it doesn’t take much imagination to envision the pile slowly dwindling as one family took “just a little” to finish their own “paneled house” (Hag. 1:4) . . . and then another came . . . and another . . . and another. Over time, the precious cedar just disappeared. 

This leads us to the need to consider our treasure. How do you use the material wealth God has entrusted to you? Do you use it to build a kingdom of sand? Or to buy bricks in eternity? We Americans are so accustomed to affluence that we laugh about “first-world problems,” like waiting three days for the air conditioner to get fixed or having to “make do” with just one car for a couple of days. Certainly, God is the giver of every good gift, including financial security (James 1:17), but He does expect that His people steward His gifts well. 

For me, my financial idolatry looks like a covetous desire for security. I don’t need a lavish or opulent lifestyle, but I also don’t want to have to worry about finances. When I trust a number in my bank account rather than God Himself, my treasure has shifted from heaven to earth. 

How about you? How does financial or material idolatry creep into your everyday life? 

Consider Your Talents

My pastor is fond of asking the question, “What is in your hand?” Drawing from God’s question to Moses in Exodus 4, he’s challenging us to consider what God has given that He wants us to use for kingdom good. For some, it may be time or treasure, but for all of us, at least one answer to that question is a gift of the Holy Spirit. 

While these aren’t quite synonymous with natural talents (like drawing, singing, computer programming, or interior design), the gifts of the Holy Spirit are given with the express purpose of edifying and equipping the Body of Christ (Eph. 4:11–13) and glorifying the Lord Jesus Christ (1 Pet. 4:11). God also gives us natural abilities and opportunities that can be used for His purposes. None of these gifts are meant to be hoarded or buried.

Using your gifts (and talents) to build the eternal kingdom of Christ is nonnegotiable. If you’re withholding your gift from your local body of believers, you need to “consider your ways.” God hasn’t given you that gift to be buried in the ground (Matt. 25:14–30); He’s given it to you that you may display His glory and greatness. 

Consider Your Response

After hearing Haggai’s message, the Jews responded. They dusted off the blueprints, hiked into the mountains to get more lumber, and got back to work (Hag. 1:12–15). They must have heeded God’s words and “considered their ways.” Our circumstances are different, but the call is the same.

Why are you here? What has God entrusted to you? And are you using it for the purpose He intended—to display His glory and greatness?

May God give us grace to stop, consider our ways, and reorder our lives around what matters to Him.