To Build or Not To
Build
3 Then the word of the Lord came by
the hand of Haggai the prophet, 4 “Is it a time for
you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, while this house lies in
ruins? 5 Now, therefore, thus says the Lord of
hosts: Consider your ways”
(Haggai 1: 3-5).
I have found that the Christian walk is filled with hills
and valleys. There are those of us who pitch a tent after a valley event and
never bother to head back up the hill. Our priorities become skewed and we lose
the focus, settling for “status quo and the lazy lethargic attitude”. This is
what happened to the first set of returnees. The Israelites had been exiled for
over 70 years and were now in their land, having been given the challenge to
return home and rebuild God’s temple (Ezra 1). After the hostility, dashed
hopes - “With what are we going to rebuild? This is a huge effort! We have to
fix our own living conditions too..” They took the focus off the rebuilding
effort and pitched a tent in the valley of ease and contentment. They began to
focus on their stuff – caught up with daily living (work, work, home, kids,
fun, work, work, home kids, husband, wife, relationships).
