IT'S ALL ABOUT PRIORITIES -- Devotional for February 27, from "Good Seeds"

“Consider now how things are going for you: Little crop comes from your much planting; you have food and drink, but not enough to satisfy you; you have clothing, but not enough to keep warm; you have money, but somehow it disappears, as though your pockets were full of holes. You hoped for rich harvests, but they were poor. And what little you brought in I blew away. Why all this? Because My house lies in ruins while you are all busy building your own fine houses.” (Haggai 1:5,6 SM)

There is a hard and fast law that operates in life: The law of priority: Putting first things first. The question of why some things must come before others is easily answered: The second thing won’t be right, won’t satisfy, or possibly won’t come about at all, unless and until the first thing has been accomplished. For example, you couldn’t expect to reap a harvest if you didn’t bother to plant any seed! And you wouldn’t think to be accepted into a college, or hired for a job, if you didn’t meet the required qualifications. And certainly you couldn’t walk out of a store with goods in tow if you didn’t walk into it with money in hand – unless you were a thief! But that’s exactly how human nature operates: we try to beat the system: we shop for a bargain – a “steal of a deal.” We gamble a little money hoping to win millions, always trying to get something for nothing. We cut corners, like a 15 year old wanting to drive. He knows how. So what if he doesn’t have a license? It’s just a formality! Same with marriage: Isn’t love enough? What difference could a stupid piece of paper make? And before we know it, we are putting a whole variety of personal carts before their necessary horses! This was the case with the ancient Israelites. They went through the motions of their religion, giving their God a place in their week, in their budget, and in their thinking. Yeah...LAST PLACE! We might think we’re a lot better by moving Him up to third or even second place. But the universal law of priority applied in the spiritual realm says we are to “Seek FIRST the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you” (Matthew 6:33). When God’s people back in Haggai’s day broke that rule they began to see “all these things” – both the necessities and the niceties of life – dissipate and disappear before their very eyes. It all started when they began putting their own houses before the house of God. God gave us families and homes and “all things richly to enjoy.” But it never works to worship the gift to the neglect of the Giver, or to honor the creature over the Creator. What does work is to put Him first -- for then He will put everything right.