Does Your Purse Have Holes In It?

“You earn wages only to put them in a purse with holes in it.” Haggai 1:6

540 years before Jesus arrived as the babe in Bethlehem, God’s children were experiencing a common financial problem…more month than money!

The Bible refers to this condition as a “purse with holes”. I will refer to it as “leaks in our bank account.” The message will remain true, but terms have been updated for modern day “ease of understanding.”

Bank Account Leak #1: Seek Ye First The Kingdom Of Self

Haggai 1:2-4 “This is what the LORD Almighty says: ‘These people say, the time has not yet come for the LORD’s house to be built.’ Then the word of the LORD came through the prophet Haggai: ‘Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses, while this house remains a ruin?’”

These people had built a “self-first” lifestyle instead of a “God-first” lifestyle. This always creates a leak in one’s bank account.

Bank Account Leak #2: Impulsive Living and Spending

Haggai 1:5 “give careful thought.”

God’s children had not given careful thought to how they lived. This suggests a lifestyle of impulsive spending.

Bank Account Leak #3: Playing the Blame Game

Haggai 1:5 “give careful thought to your ways.”

These people were paying attention to the wrong things. They did not want to look at their own ways. They were looking at the ways of others. This leads to blaming others or circumstances for our problems. Drip…drip…drip…

Bank Account Leak #4: Ineffective Work

Haggai 1:6 “You have planted much, but harvested little.”

The Bible commends hard work, but never commends ineffective work. These people were working hard, but getting disappointing results. When we are working on our financial lives, but encountering disappointment, it is time to make some changes.

Bank Account Leak #5: Lack of Integrity

Haggai 1:6 “You drink, but never have your fill.”

Apparently, these people were not really drinking. Instead, they were “appearing” to drink. They appeared one way on the outside, but were experiencing something completely different on the inside. A lack of congruency between our outward appearance and our inner reality is called hypocrisy. This always results in a leak in our bank account.

Bank Account Leak #6: Delayed Action

Haggai 1…Context

God commanded his children to rebuild the temple 18 years prior to the time of Haggai. This delayed obedience caused God to remove his blessing from their lives. Can you say “Bank Account Leak”?

Bank Account Leak #7: Overindulgence

Haggai 1:6 “You eat, but never have enough.”

Even after eating, these people wanted more. They had not learned to be content. The word satisfaction was not in their dictionary. This applies to more than food and is quite costly.

Bank Account Leak #8: Pride

Haggai 1:6 “You put on clothes, but are not warm.”

They had forgotten that the primary purpose of clothing was to keep them warm. Instead, they were wearing clothes for other reasons such as serving their unhealthy pride. Anytime one forgets that the primary purpose of clothing is for warmth, a bank account leak is created.

Bank Account Leak #9: Debt

Haggai 1:6 “You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it.”

Debt is not something new. It was prevalent in Old Testament times. I know of no better description of debt than a “purse with holes”. Many people spend hundreds (or thousands) of dollars each month paying interest on their loans. Indeed “the borrower is a slave to the lender” (Proverbs 22:7).

Bank Account Leak #10: Foolishness

Haggai 1:12 “And the people feared the LORD.”

According to Proverbs 1:7,”…the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom.” In the first 11 verses of Haggai, the people did not fear the Lord. They only started fearing the Lord in verse 12.

Therefore prior to verse 12, they were not making wise financial decisions. They were making foolish decisions.

We will look at each of these in detail in upcoming posts.