Think very carefully about your choices. You
have planted a large crop, but your harvest is small. You have food to
eat, but it is never enough to satisfy. You have something to drink, but
you are never filled. You have clothes to wear, but they are not enough
to keep you warm. You earn a salary, but the money runs out quickly, as
if there are holes in your pocket. Haggai 1:5-6, The Voice
I've been chewing on today's quote for a couple of days. I can't quite find my way to what is teasing my brain about it so I thought, why not? I'll just put it out there and see if whatever is teasing me comes out through the keyboard. :)
I feel like initially what struck me about today's quote is that a lot of busy work is described here but not much productivity. (And look for that quote at some point in the near future because I've got one sitting in my queue.) So a large crop is planted but the harvest is small. That tells me that a lot of busy work was done but it wasn't fruitful for whatever reason. Maybe because the soil it was planted in was shallow, nutrient deprived, or only masquerading as soil. Translate that to life. What kind of large crops have you planted but the harvest has ended up being small? Back in my days as a Children's Ministry Director I would write curriculum and then teach it. The writing of the curriculum was a large crop to plant and the harvest was dependent on the soil it got thrown on. Sometimes the outcome of the harvest falls on us and other times it is a result of other people. Sometimes it is a combination of the both. So when the harvest came in and I saw what was gathered I had a clear picture of the success of it - busy work only or did something actually get gleaned? What about in the workplace? (You might note that's a favorite topic of mine as of late.) Are you keeping yourself occupied with busy work so others think you are working but there is no actual productivity? Then you are making it seem as if you are planting large crops but your harvest is small to non-existent.
Today's quote isn't just about the harvest we get from what we plant or attempt to plant. It also addresses stewardship I believe. The literal examples given make sense right? Let's translate them to other areas of life. The choices we make about how we utilize what we have been given indicate what kind of stewards we are. Why do you have food to eat but are not satisfied? Why do you have something to drink but are still thirsty? Why does your paycheck only last a day when you have no outstanding debts to put it toward? I think the answers to these questions speak toward our stewardship. At the workplace (oh sheesh Beth give it a rest) we are given a job to do. If we only do it half-heartedly then we will not be satisfied We will be hungry and thirsty for more except we haven't proven to anyone that we can do more (or consume more if we want to stick with the food/drink analogy.) So we get all grumpy and pissy (not apologizing for that word) and start blame shifting to others because we are still hungry for more responsibility but our choices indicate we can't handle it. More responsibility would bloat us. Be a good steward with what you have been handed and you will find you are satisfied. And if the hunger or thirst for more comes then ask for more to do and see if you are entrusted with more. If you are that means you have shown that when you plant a crop the harvest is large (see the full circle?).
Think carefully about your choices. That's how today's quote starts off. Think carefully about your choices, what do they say about you? There's no time like the present to look at yourself carefully and face yourself honestly.
I've been chewing on today's quote for a couple of days. I can't quite find my way to what is teasing my brain about it so I thought, why not? I'll just put it out there and see if whatever is teasing me comes out through the keyboard. :)
I feel like initially what struck me about today's quote is that a lot of busy work is described here but not much productivity. (And look for that quote at some point in the near future because I've got one sitting in my queue.) So a large crop is planted but the harvest is small. That tells me that a lot of busy work was done but it wasn't fruitful for whatever reason. Maybe because the soil it was planted in was shallow, nutrient deprived, or only masquerading as soil. Translate that to life. What kind of large crops have you planted but the harvest has ended up being small? Back in my days as a Children's Ministry Director I would write curriculum and then teach it. The writing of the curriculum was a large crop to plant and the harvest was dependent on the soil it got thrown on. Sometimes the outcome of the harvest falls on us and other times it is a result of other people. Sometimes it is a combination of the both. So when the harvest came in and I saw what was gathered I had a clear picture of the success of it - busy work only or did something actually get gleaned? What about in the workplace? (You might note that's a favorite topic of mine as of late.) Are you keeping yourself occupied with busy work so others think you are working but there is no actual productivity? Then you are making it seem as if you are planting large crops but your harvest is small to non-existent.
Today's quote isn't just about the harvest we get from what we plant or attempt to plant. It also addresses stewardship I believe. The literal examples given make sense right? Let's translate them to other areas of life. The choices we make about how we utilize what we have been given indicate what kind of stewards we are. Why do you have food to eat but are not satisfied? Why do you have something to drink but are still thirsty? Why does your paycheck only last a day when you have no outstanding debts to put it toward? I think the answers to these questions speak toward our stewardship. At the workplace (oh sheesh Beth give it a rest) we are given a job to do. If we only do it half-heartedly then we will not be satisfied We will be hungry and thirsty for more except we haven't proven to anyone that we can do more (or consume more if we want to stick with the food/drink analogy.) So we get all grumpy and pissy (not apologizing for that word) and start blame shifting to others because we are still hungry for more responsibility but our choices indicate we can't handle it. More responsibility would bloat us. Be a good steward with what you have been handed and you will find you are satisfied. And if the hunger or thirst for more comes then ask for more to do and see if you are entrusted with more. If you are that means you have shown that when you plant a crop the harvest is large (see the full circle?).
Think carefully about your choices. That's how today's quote starts off. Think carefully about your choices, what do they say about you? There's no time like the present to look at yourself carefully and face yourself honestly.
Comments
Post a Comment