Consider Your Ways
How often do you think about your patterns and habits? Is it only when something is going wrong or like many, do you become contemplative around the transition to a new year?
I’ve been thinking about my lifestyle for about 3 months now, so though December is winding down, and January is quickly approaching, the words I share with you aren’t a new thought in my mind. Yet before God highlighted this passage as I was reading, I couldn’t quite put into words the cause of my disquiet:
You have sown much, and harvested little. You eat, but you never have enough; you drink but you never have your fill. You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm. And he who earns wages does so to put them into a bag with holes. Haggai 1:6 (ESV)
In a word, I’ve been weary. At Christmas, the hymn[1] tells us “the weary world rejoices” which sounds fantastic except I’m not rejoicing—I’m just tired. And it’s not even about the hustle and bustle of the Christmas season. Don’t get annoyed but yes, I’m one of those people who has her to do list done before Thanksgiving so I can enjoy the season. This year I have capacity to enjoy the season but not the willpower.
There have been highs and lows in the past month, but I’ve stayed pretty flat. I happen to live in the cloudiest region on earth and perhaps I may experience a touch of seasonal affective disorder, but I think it’s more than that. I’m living through a season where I’m not seeing a lot of fruit and it is draining me.
If you’re not familiar with the biblical concept of fruitfulness, let me share some key ideas. Fruit is the outcome of your spiritual life-the resources you leverage, what comes back to you as you invest in God’s kingdom. The Holy Spirt is the source of fruit for the Christian, providing divinely-given attributes such as peace, joy, faithfulness[2] to name a few, resources to strengthen us from within. Jesus tells his followers he will “prune” elements of our life that aren’t yielding produce[3], much in the same way horticulture works, so that the branch can grow new life. He is a God who loves to give us abundance[4].
Enter our passage in Haggai. God speaks to a group of returning exiles who have started the rebuilding the temple’s foundation but just stopped working. They encountered resistance so it was easier to stop building up God’s temple and instead look to their own dwelling. In fact, they were so focused on self, they were able to decorate their homes to the level of wall paneling[5]. I think this is probably an ancient reference to a Joanna Gaines style of farmhouse chic. Why are they working so hard and not getting much back? They’ve been building the wrong house.
Ironically, the name of my blog is The House You’re Building. Back in 2011, I started writing as an offering of thanks upon moving into a brand-new home that God had built for my family. As I look back on my heart 10 years ago, could it be that I’ve lost sight of how I’m investing? Have been building my own house and not his? Have my eyes been too focused on my own comforts and vanities, ignoring the work that will be to his glory?
He directs them to consider their ways[6]. That’s the first step, to think about how much I’m putting out and what I’m getting back. Is my labor fruitful? Am I focused on self? Am I too comfortable and focused on temporary pleasures? Am I reminded that the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few[7]? Am I committed and eager to see his glory to shine through my life or am I happy to have a pretty okay life while things of the spirit lay in shambles?
The solution will take work. The raw materials are to be collected up in the hills[8] so it might be an arduous climb. The steps I am asked to take in rebuilding are to travel, gather, and work upon the foundation that is Christ[9]. For when I consider all he has done for me, his death, resurrection and ascension, is my part so hard? It’s to keep investing is what he is doing and not be chasing my own comforts. There is a time to settle in and a time to put your hand to the plow. Philippians 2 reminds us that we should do nothing out of selfish ambition or conceit but attach ourselves to humility,[10] which is always tricky because as soon as you think you’re humble you become prideful. Yet godly humility is a form of self-forgetfulness where we look at God and away from ourselves.
If we can consider our ways, make small and big choices to stop living for ourselves alone, God declares He will give peace[11]. That’s good news for this weary soul. I hope it is for yours as well.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! -Rayna
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