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Daily Devotions for the Advent and Christmas Seasons
Friday, December 11
Haggai 1:1-15
by Stanley Wong
To be honest, I struggled with writing this devotional. I read the three passages and nothing hit me. It wasn’t until I read the Haggai passage again that I saw this in verse 9: “my house is in ruins while each of you is busy with his own house.”
When the real estate bubble burst it affected many people. Here in the aftermath, jobs have been lost, equity values have dropped, banks are in distress. It’s a complete 180 degrees from a couple of years ago when things were hot. As distressing as things are right now, it is perhaps worthwhile to consider that when we as a people collectively embraced of the surge in real estate prices, each of us was “busy with his own house.”
When we are self-absorbed, we are not cognizant of the impact of our own actions on the common good. What may benefit us as individuals, may not be in the long-term interests of us as a people. Impairing our common welfare in the long term also impairs our own individual interests in the long term. We end up forgetting that as God’s servants, God comes first. We forget we are told to “love the Lord your God with all your heart.”
When we forget that and just think of our own needs, we collectively suffer the consequences.
Prayer
Dear Lord, help us to remember that we are your servants, we are here to bring glory to your name, and above all else that we are to love you with all our hearts. Out of that love we should be busy building your house and not busy with our own houses. Amen.