Put First Things First

E.M. Gray spent his life searching for the single trait that all successful people share. He published his findings in an essay called The Common Denominator of Success. It wasn’t hard work, luck, or networking.

The defining trait was this: the habit of putting first things first. Gray wrote:

"The successful person has the habit of doing the things failures don't like to do. They don't like doing them either... but their disliking is subordinated to the strength of their purpose."

The Old Testament Book of Haggai delivers this exact message. It was written to people just like us—people who said God was first, but whose daily lives proved otherwise.

Seventy years after Babylon destroyed Jerusalem, a remnant of Jews returned to rebuild. They started strong, laying the foundation of the Temple. But when neighbors opposed them and the work got hard, they quit.

For 15 years, life went on. Jerusalem came back to life. Shops opened, crops were planted, and homes were built. But the Temple foundation sat overgrown with weeds—a silent monument to misplaced priorities.

Then Haggai showed up like a construction foreman in a hardhat, pulling no punches: It is time to build.

I. Stop Making Excuses

First, Haggai confronted their timing excuses:

Haggai 1:2 CSB

“The Lord of Armies says this: These people say: The time has not come for the house of the Lord to be rebuilt.”

They weren't saying never; they were saying not yet. "We want to build, but times are tough. We need to secure our own families first. We need to pray about it more."

We do the same thing. We tell ourselves we will serve, give, or focus on our spiritual lives once things "settle down" at work or home.

Evangelist Billy Sunday defined an excuse as "the skin of a reason stuffed with a lie."

Benjamin Franklin wrote, "I never knew a man who was good at making excuses who was good at anything else."

The first step to putting God first is admitting that our delay is actually disobedience.

II. Cease Being Selfish

Next, Haggai challenged their luxury versus God's neglect:

Haggai 1:4 CSB

“Is it a time for you yourselves to live in your paneled houses, while this house lies in ruins?”

"Paneled" means finished, decorated, and comfortable. There is nothing wrong with having a nice home. The sin was not that they had finished houses, but that they finished their houses while leaving God's house unfinished.

We naturally drift toward selfishness. It is our default setting. We don't wake up one morning and decide to abandon God; we simply stop making Him our anchor, and slowly, quietly, we wander away. If we do not intentionally build our lives around God, we will default to building them entirely around ourselves.

III. Don't Miss God's Blessings

Because of their misplaced priorities, the people were surviving but not thriving:

Haggai 1:6 CSB

You have planted much but harvested little. You eat but never have enough to be satisfied. You drink but never have enough to be happy. You put on clothes but never have enough to get warm. The wage earner puts his wages into a bag with a hole in it.”

They were working harder than ever but achieving less. They were earning money only to watch it vanish.

Haggai goes even deeper into this reality:

Haggai 1:9–10 CSB

“You expected much, but then it amounted to little. When you brought the harvest to your house, I ruined it. Why?” This is the declaration of the Lord of Armies. “Because my house still lies in ruins, while each of you is busy with his own house. So on your account, the skies have withheld the dew and the land its crops.

Haggai gave them a sobering wake-up call. What happens in your heart affects every other part of your life. Because they pushed Him to the margins, He stepped back from their margins. God was the one withholding the blessing.

Jesus offered the same spiritual physics in the New Testament:

Matthew 6:33 CSB

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you.

Blessings are not a transaction—they are a byproduct of alignment. When we align our lives with God's priorities, we open the door to His provision. Real blessing isn’t just material prosperity; it is the peace, joy, and satisfaction that come from knowing we are in step with our Creator. Obedience unlocks God’s hand. When we put Him first, we no longer have to worry about trying to preserve what we have in a bag with holes—because God becomes our security, and His blessings flow naturally into an obedient heart.

IV. Take Time to Evaluate

Twice, Haggai commands the people: "Consider your ways" (1:5, 1:7).

In Hebrew, this means to carefully examine your life’s path.

Socrates famously wrote: "The unexamined life is not worth living."

GPS . Only works when you can receive a signal from the satellite. Then you can know where you are. Cant know how to get somewhere unless you know where you are!

If a pilot fails to make minor course corrections during a flight, the plane ends up hundreds of miles off course.

Each day we need to evaluate how we spend our time, our money, and how we use our talents. We should examine who we choose as friends, what we set as goals, and where we are going. If God is not first in your schedule, your budget, and your relationships, who moved Him?

How Do We Know God is First?

When we put first things first, three things happen:

We are active in the right things: We stop talking and start doing (Haggai 1:8).

Haggai 1:8 CSB

Go up into the hills, bring down lumber, and build the house; and I will be pleased with it and be glorified,” says the Lord.

We prioritize daily prayer, service, and giving.

2. God is glorified: Our chief ambition shifts from building our personal brand to spreading His reputation.

3. We experience His presence:

Haggai 1:12–13 CSB

Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, the high priest Joshua son of Jehozadak, and the entire remnant of the people obeyed the Lord their God and the words of the prophet Haggai, because the Lord their God had sent him. So the people feared the Lord. Then Haggai, the Lord’s messenger, delivered the Lord’s message to the people: “I am with you—this is the Lord’s declaration.”

God promised the obedient builders, "I am with you" (Haggai 1:13). His presence is the ultimate blessing.

Conclusion: The Jar of Life Illus.

big rocks, gravel, sand, and water

Ask: "What is the point of this illustration?"

The Answer: If you don’t put the big rocks in first, you will never get them in at all.

What are your big rocks? It’s time to stop making excuses, stop living selfishly, and put the Big Rock of God’s Kingdom into the jar first.