In Haggai 1:4, God says, “Why are you living in luxurious houses while my house lies in ruins?” While we should certainly feel some conviction of this taken at face value, I think there is also a deeper application. Looking at the state of the typical Christian life today, we could paraphrase this into “Why are you building such a luxurious kingdom for yourself while neglecting My Kingdom?”
There is no escape from the fact almost every one of us devotes far more time building our own “house” than we do building the Kingdom of God. This attitude permeates how we spend our time and our money. The culture in which we live demands we prioritize self before others and certainly before God.