I'll never forget one of the first years when I was a homeowner. Halloween came, and I was really excited to have trick-or-treaters come to the house. I was not, however, prepared for the woman pushing a baby carriage who requested candy for the infant. I almost paused and said, "CPS will be all over you if I let you feed candy to your baby," but I decided to let her have her mini Snickers bar without putting up an argument. She wasn't concerned for the kid; she was concerned for herself. That's essentially one of the messages that God was sending to the Israelites through Haggai. Obviously the issue wasn't candy, but the Israelites were generously getting their homes back in order, and they completely neglected God's earthly home: the Temple. He reminded them that they weren't to be putting their own needs above Him. After all, He was the One who provided for them (and us) anyway. They needed to give back generously to Him as a reminded of what they were about as a people. They were stewards of what God had given – they weren't owners. We need to be reminded of the same truth sometimes. Whatever we have is not ours; we're simply stewards of what God has given us. If were not giving back to Him first, then we're really not trusting Him with the things He gave us in the first place. It's not me before You. It's God first, and then my needs. If He can be trusted, then there's no fear in living this way because we know He will continue to provide for everything.
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