The Fields Come First

Proverbs 24:27 says, "Finish your outdoor work and get your fields ready; after that, build your house." Now, at first glance that seems like a strange piece of advice. Whether you're a farmer or a city-dweller, you need a place to live. Shouldn't you take care of your own house first, before working in the fields?

No, the fields come first. If you spend the summer building your house but neglect to plant a crop, you won't have anything to eat when winter comes. The proverb means, "Make sure you have your finances in order before you take on the responsibility of building a house." Some Bible students suggest that the phrase "build your house" is a metaphor for marriage. In other words, before you start a family, make sure you can support your spouse and children.

Let me suggest another way Christians can apply this verse. Jesus said, "Ask the Lord of the harvest . . . to send out workers into his harvest field" (Matthew 9:38). The fields come first! The Lord's harvest field should come ahead of any other priority we pursue.

But is this really the way we live? From the looks of things, most Christians are more concerned about our own comforts than we are about the Lord's harvest field. Like other consumers, we rush to buy bigger homes, finer cars, expensive clothes, and the latest electronic gadgets. Meanwhile, missionaries waste precious time scrounging for funds, Bible colleges struggle to make ends meet, and church budgets typically contain only a meager amount for local evangelism.

Current demographics indicate that 28 per cent of "Baby Busters" (born between 1965 and 1980) attend church on a typical weekend. Even among "Seniors" (born before 1927) only 52 per cent attend a church of any kind most weekends. Across the world, millions still haven't heard the gospel at all. It's time to put our money where our mouth is and invest extraordinary, God-sized resources in new church planting and other productive evangelistic efforts that will reach our generation for Christ. It isn't enough for a church to have a "mission statement." Every Christian ought to embrace the church's mission and be personally involved in Bible study, worship, service, evangelism, and generous giving. Yet, according to George Barna's research, most regular church attenders do not care very deeply at all about the church's mission. Most do not identify evangelism, having meaningful relationships with other people in their church, and giving 10 percent or more of their income to the church as very important endeavors. Barna also discovered that although one-third of all "born again" adults claim to tithe their income, only 12 percent actually do. The problem isn't a lack of money; it's a lack of motivation. The issue isn't dollars, but discipleship! It's a matter of the heart.

In Haggai's day, the temple fell into disrepair while God's people decorated their homes with fine wood paneling. The Lord rebuked them and said, "Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses, while this house remains a ruin?" (Haggai 1:4). Material things don't satisfy the deeper needs of our hearts, anyway. "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 1:6). Real joy comes when we invest wholeheartedly in the Lord's work, a cause far greater than "building our own houses."