Haggai 1:4-6 “’Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses, while this house remains a ruin?’ Now this is what the LORD Almighty says: ‘Give careful thought to your ways. You have planted much, but 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.’”
These were lean times in Israel and the temple of God was in disrepair. The people were concentrating on their own comfort, ignoring worship, being unproductive and gradually going broke.
Principle: In a declining economy simplify your lifestyle and seek God for solutions.
There is a grand scale of super-luxury living today where greed and pleasures are the gods of the day.
It is good business for the leader of a company to set an example of economizing. If the company is suffering from un-profitability, good leadership can go public with the idea of simplifying and cutting back their own compensation and benefits. I read that Lou Platt, when he was the President of Hewlett Packard, chose to fly economy class instead of business or first class. This was during a time when HP was facing “lean” times. After his retirement, his successor chose to purchase a company jet which probably ending up being a “hole in the company’s purse.”
Believers agree that the work of God’s kingdom is a high priority in life. Considering what life and business has taught us, excessive striving for the trappings of success will not produce lasting satisfaction. Riches and success are temporary at best.
It is fair to say that most Christian giving to Godly causes is huge compared to worldly standards of giving to all causes. It is safe to say that pretentious lifestyles are rare among even the wealthiest of Christians. What sticks in our throat is to say that if we gave more to God’s causes we would get more. I know that is the theme of some who raise money for Christian organizations. It sounds manipulative. I think they call it prosperity doctrine. Is it true? Read the verse again and ask God. Examine your life. You decide.
Discussion:
1. What first step will you take toward simpler living to benefit someone in need?
2. What first step will you take as a business toward simpler living to benefit someone in need?
3. What does the Bible teach about “prosperity doctrine”?
