Money Problems?

Then the word of the Lord came through the prophet Haggai: “Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses, while this house remains in ruin?”

Now this is what the Lord Almighty says: “Give careful thought to your ways. 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.” – Hag 1:3-6

Sound familiar? Many work sixty hour weeks, but can’t pay their bills. Many are homeless. Many face an empty cupboard. Businesses fail all around us. And it seems like every week, we are told we must find more and more money for our leaders to spend. Our financial problems are indeed serious; but, like ancient Israel, we do not recognize that they are the product of a lack of regard for the things of God.

The ancient Israelites had been told to rebuild the temple of the Lord, but they wanted to build homes for themselves and fix their financial problems first. So, work had stopped on the temple. Here God tells them, through Haggai, that their financial problems were actually the result of not putting Him first.

Today, we see our problems largely as caused by greedy or inept rulers. What we need to recognize is that greedy or inept rulers are a result of wrong priorities. We are busily trying to protect our “American Dream” lifestyles. What we need to do is get busy about putting God first in our lives.

Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is NO authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. – Rom 13:1

The Israelites had returned from captivity in Babylon. Their nation was in ruins, but they had been overrun because they had allowed their hearts to love other gods. They had turned from the truth of God’s word to the lies of the devil. They had put the God of their fathers – the One who had delivered them from Egypt –on par with idols and forsaken the things of His heart. And God was angry.

Fear the Lord your God, serve Him only and take your oaths in His name. Do not follow other gods, the gods of the peoples around you; for the Lord your God, who is among you, is a jealous God and His anger will burn against you, and He will destroy you from the face of the land. – Deu 6:13-15

Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. – Gal 6:7

God is not mocked. He didn’t tolerate their disobedience, and He isn’t tolerating ours. They sowed disobedience – sacrificing their children to idols, worshipping other gods, failing to hold to the truth of His word -- and reaped destruction. We have allowed in their footsteps like they were leading us to mountains of gold, and we are seeing His disapproval in every area of our lives.

Ancient Israel returned to rebuilding the temple and God returned to blessing them. That’s how it works. We put Him first and He takes care of everything else.

Want decent rulers? Make God the authority in your life. His word should be our law. We should take it just that seriously. It isn’t that He hasn’t given us directions; but rather, that we are not following them.

And now, O Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways, to love Him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the Lord’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good? – Deu 10:12-13

Want to be blessed? End child sacrifice. God does NOT approve of the shedding of innocent blood. Our nation is literally drowning in it.

Do this so that innocent blood will not be shed in your land, which the Lord your God is giving you as your inheritance, and so that you will not be guilty of bloodshed. – Deu 19:10

We are guilty. He told us we would be if we did not do something to stop it. For the most part, we have looked the other way, and we are reaping the fruit of our disregard.

We need to stop tolerating evil and speak up for the things of God. We need to go out and witness to the lost. We need to demand that abortion be outlawed. We need to stop putting our comfort ahead of the things of His heart. In ancient Israel they were to show their respect for Him by rebuilding His temple first. In this nation, we need to show our respect by abandoning our ungodly ways.

Until we stop having wrong priorities, we are going to be punished. God is no respecter of persons. We are just as guilty as ancient Israel. We had a blessed land while God was the God of our hearts. Returning to those blessings requires a returning to Him. It’s just that simple. Don’t complain about an empty bank account. Start worshipping and returning to Him. He’s not broke, but He isn’t going to bless us until we get our priorities inline with His will.

God’s peace.

Betty