Surviving or Thriving

In the Bible Dictionary we read that "the two chapters in the book of Haggai contain an exhortation to the people to be more zealous about the public worship of God and the rebuilding of his temple." It seems as if the people were so comfortable (and maybe a a bit worn out) from rebuilding their homes that they had put off rebuilding the Lord's house (1:2-4). The Lord was not pleased with their misplaced priorities and tells them twice to "consider your ways" (1:5,7) or in today's lingo, get your priorities straight!

I love that the verse inbetween the exhortations of "consider your ways" is a verse filled with metaphors describing things that are unsatisfactory-seeds that don't produce much fruit, food and drink that doesn't fill you up, clothes that don't keep you warm, and a bag that won’t hold your money (v. 6).  The lesson I understood from these verses is that if our priorities are out of whack then we will never get past just surviving. But if we put our priorities in order then we can thrive!

One of my favorite talks about priorities is by Sister Julie B. Beck called Choose Ye This Day to Serve the Lord. In this talk she shares her thoughts about a prioritizing system that she was inspired to create that has helped her keep her priorities straight. Her three categories are:

1. essential things 
2. necessary things 
3. nice-to-do things

In her essential category goes everything that is essential to receiving personal revelation; daily scripture study and prayer, weekly attendance at church meetings, time in the temple, sharing the gospel, and serving others.

On her necessary list are things like work, cooking, cleaning, and shopping. Finally, on the nice-to-do list go things such as hobbies and movies. I love her short testimony of how this system has worked for her. She says, "To walk with the Lord, we have to know what is essential, what is necessary, and what is nice to do. There is a lot to do, but I find that it is amazing how much I get to do on my nice-to-do list. The Lord blesses us with those mercies, but only if the other priorities are in order." 

This same pattern holds true with the people in the book of Haggai. As they repent and begin their work on the temple, the Lord begins again to bless them in many ways (2:18-19). The same pattern can also be realized in our lives as well. As we "consider our ways" by looking at our priority lists and making sure we are doing the most important things first, the Lord will also bless us to prosper and flourish.