Holes in Our Pockets

The prophet Haggai was a man of few words, but his short book packs a punch.

God's people were supposed to be rebuilding the temple in Jerusalem, but they delayed the project and rationalized their neglect with flimsy excuses, saying, "The time isn't right to build the Lord's house." The Lord called them to repent and said, "Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses, while this house remains a ruin? . . . Give careful thought to your ways. You have planted much, but have 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" (Haggai 1:4-6).

Why would anyone put money in a purse full of holes? Yet, that's what happens when we invest in what the New Testament calls "the things of this world."

Someone has said that money can buy a house, but not a home. It can buy a bed, but not sleep. It can buy a gourmet meal, but not an appetite.

Money can buy entertainment, but not contentment; popularity, but not friendship. It can buy medicine, but it can't guarantee health. It can purchase "religion," but not a relationship with God.

A political proverb insists, "It's the economy, stupid," but real stupidity is thinking the economy alone can solve all our problems. "Whoever trusts in his riches will fall" (Proverbs 11:28).

Money isn't the bottom line—eternity is. Accumulating wealth isn't the purpose of life—glorifying God is. "What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?" (Mark 8:36).

The very word belongings should tell us something. Our possessions can't satisfy what we are "longing" to "be." Paul told Timothy, "Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment" (1 Timothy 6:17). We should be thankful for the material blessings we enjoy, but if our main goal is to find happiness through economic prosperity, we'll be disappointed in the long run.

We all have holes in our pockets! Thieves can steal our treasures; moths and rust will corrode them. The finest car eventually will waste away in a junkyard. Famous-label clothes will go out of style. Today's fine house will be remodeled someday by a new owner who shakes his head at how the old place has gone down. Our bank accounts won't help us beyond the grave. The stock market is a purse with holes in it.

Here's a different way to look at our resources: "The silver is mine and the gold is mine," says the Lord. If his people would get their priorities straight, the Lord promised, "The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house . . . . And in this place I will grant peace" (Haggai 2:8-9).

We long to belong. Peace comes when we realize that we (and our "belongings") belong to God. Freedom comes when we quit clinging to our possessions and release them for the Lord's glory. Joy comes when we trade our self-made fig-leaves for the righteousness that only comes by grace.

"Clothe yourselves with Christ," the Bible says—and when we do, we will find no holes in those pure white robes.