Latest / Beliefs, Ballots, And BullDawgs / Monday June 15, 1026
Transcript
- Greg: Good morning. What's up guys? You have reached the latest edition of Beliefs, Ballots, and Bulldogs. I'm your host, Greg Miller. Today is Monday, June fifteenth. We're ⁓ we're coming back to you after a week off. ⁓ tried my best to to get some things done while I was ⁓ while I was away, but family obligations took priority and that's never a bad thing. Got to spend some quality time with my wife and my youngest daughter and and one of her friends. Had a beautiful week, had a had some beach time, played a little golf, played a little tennis, had a had a had a lot of time to spend with the family and focus on things that are really important. And and all is well. ⁓ you'll notice a little different scenario, a little different scene for me today. I ⁓ I'm doing this one in honor of my my buddy, my my common sense superhero podcast partner, David Smith. He does ⁓ he does a solo show he calls Front Porch with David. So we go we're gonna frame this one as a little back. WG, but it's gonna be the same old beliefs, ballots, and bulldogs. We just go talk about the scripture, talk a little Georgia sports, and I don't think we're gonna get anything political today, just not feeling it. So let's get started with the word. The ⁓ the the word of the day comes from the book of Haggai. And ⁓ I tell you, I'm I'm always excited when when the daily devotional goes to a to a Bible book that I don't read a whole lot of and hadn't spent a whole lot lot of time studying. So this was a good one. It's Haggai chapter one, verses five and six. Now this is what the Lord Almighty says, give careful thought to your ways. You have planted much, but harvest little. 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. This is ⁓ it the passage it's it's speaking of money, it it's obviously drawing some some parallels to financial situations, but The passage is in no way really about money. It's it's not about it's not about crops. It's not even really about any sort of financial prosperity. It's it's about people who who at this time and in their travails were were really busy but not productive. And that's something I know we can we can all relate to. They they were working but not fulfilled. They were accumulating but never satisfied. That sound familiar to anybody? We we all deal with that. It's You know, I I I say this all the time and it and it comes across very sarcastic sometimes, but you just, hey, how's that working out for you? I I mean that's that's essentially what God is is asking us here at the Book of Haggai. Speaking through the prophet, he's he's essentially saying this this isn't an insult, this is an invitation. It it's an invitation to readjust your perspective, so to speak. You take a little historical context from from what's going on at the time that that this scripture comes to us and The the Israelites had had returned from exile. You know, God had called them to rebuild the temple, but instead they they got distracted. And they weren't distracted by evil things or bad things. They were just simply distracted by their own priorities, their houses and homes, their comfort, their careers, their personal concerns, things of that nature. And due to all this, the the temple went unfinished while they focused on themselves. And that's that's when God's coming to them and saying, You know, consider your ways. ⁓ in in modern language and current vernacular, he said he said, Hey, take a hard look at your life. What what are you prioritizing? And this is why, you know, that's that's what makes this one of the most relevant passages that we can study now. You you look at this and you know, look all around you. People are busier than ever, more connected than ever, more entertained than ever. Yet we're all anxious and lonely and unsatisfied and Unfortunately, a lot of us are just spiritually empty. We have, and this is all a product of our society, and it's just gotten worse in the last you know 15, 20, 30 years. We've we've become experts at staying busy, but amateurs at evaluating whether or not our busyness is actually producing anything worthwhile. you know, the there's phrases that jump out at you, and this this, you know, the one that gets me is. you earn wages only to put them in a purse with holes in it. What a picture. And and that's obviously one we can all relate to. You you work harder, you earn more, you buy more, you acquire more, you accumulate more, and yet somehow you're always chasing something. You always feel like it's never quite enough. You know, people always think if I can just make a little more, buy a little more, achieve a little more, then I'll finally get that feeling of satisfaction. It doesn't happen. And that's what Haggai is saying. Haggai saying, no, that's that's not the thing. The issue isn't your income, the issue is your priorities. And that's where you know, take this to a family, you know, level. Like, how many of us know people that spill spend their entire lives building a career, accumulating wealth, and and from the outside in, they they look successful, and the world will tell you they're successful. But all the while they were building this successful life, they were neglecting what really matters most and what all of us will even claim that matters most. We'll claim that family is most important, but our actions and our behaviors don't always show that. Some people are are just winning professionally and losing everywhere else. And it's just it's a testament to our culture. It's what we deal with in our society. Our culture just continues to. promise fulfillment through success success and ⁓ achievement and consumption and status and yet we're all restless and we all feel empty. You know, Haggai here is is forcing a a very difficult question. And I think we all need to wrestle with this on our own from time to time. It's what if the thing you're chasing isn't capable of delivering what you're asking for it to deliver? You know, I I I use the phrase all the time, I can't fill your cup if my cup is empty. Like what you pursue is what's going to fill you up. But what if you're trying to get full on something that that doesn't have the capability to fill you up? ⁓ you know, being busy doesn't mean you're big building something meaningful and and and worthwhile. You know, just because you're moving doesn't mean you're headed in the right direction. We we all know these things and You know, at the end of the day, what what Haggai is telling us, the the word of God is telling us here is that it's it's some people just need a new strategy. Some some people need a new priority. The problem isn't that we're we're trying too little or we're working too little or not doing enough. Problem is a lot of times we're just we're working on and focusing on the wrong things. You know, God didn't tell the Israelites here to to work harder. They were all working hard. They were all incredibly busy. He told them to stop and evaluate. The the the world has convinced us that that exhaustion is evidence of success. And that's just not cruel. And that's where Haggai's going. That's where we talk about it's it's God saying, How's that working out for you? How how's that constant exhaustion working out for you? Do you feel successful? You know, when you when you when you step back from all the headlines and and all the noise, you know, maybe maybe the most important question isn't. Hey, what's happening in Washington or Hollywood or social media? Maybe the most important question is the one that God asked through through the prophet Haggai here. Consider your ways. Take an honest look at your life and ask yourself that one most important question. How's that actually working out? All right, guys, a little bit of sports talk. ⁓ good news, dogs won game one in Omaha, beat Texas, ⁓ dominant performance by Joey Vojka, like just an incredible pitching performance. ⁓ super, super impressive. We get to face another SEC school sorta. Still not entirely sure. I welcome Texas and Oklahoma fully to the SEC. ⁓ but we got the Oklahoma Sooners tonight, seven o'clock in Omaha. ⁓ Caden Nayoki is supposed to be on the mound looking for looking for the bats to stay hot and just this this team has been absolutely resilient. So much fun to watch. If you hadn't been paying attention to the Diamond Dogs, tune in at seven o'clock tonight. Watch them boys out in Omaha. I I would almost be willing to bet they'll put on a good show for you. ⁓ and and hey, football note, we are eighty-two days from Georgia football. Can't wait to open the season. ⁓ eighty-two's a good number. Couldn't go with anybody other than my boy from South Georgia. He's down there, ⁓ kind of my generation, my time frame. Old number eighty-two, Fred Gibson, a long, lean, speedy wide receiver from down in Way Cross. Freddie was a Freddie was a heck of an athlete. Freddie spent a little time on the basketball, played for the Hoop Dogs as well. ⁓ but we'll always be known as a football guy. Freddie was Freddie was fun to watch in his time in Athens, hung around for a while, got drafted, played a few years in the NFL. I think he he ended up in the Canadian Football League. ⁓ but Freddie is Freddie will always be a a a diehard, a good dog. ⁓ being down there from South Georgia, there was a pretty big recruiting battle between us and that ⁓ that silly university that wears orange and blue. And he chose the dogs and we're glad he did. So God bless you, Fred Gibson. Eighty two days to a football. Let's ⁓ That can't get here soon enough. But for now, my dogs are a baseball school and and our attention is firmly focused on what's going on in Omaha. ⁓ man, I would love to see the dogs bring home a title. It is ⁓ it's been a while since we've we've been this competitive. I'll remember watching it's two thousand seven, two thousand eight ish, watching the the finals of the College World Series out in Omaha when we lost lost the three game final to to Fresno State, and that was devastating back in the Gordon Beckham, Josh Morris days, but fun to watch. College baseball is a great sport, ⁓ especially if you like to like to see home run. So tune in tonight. Watch watch the dogs hopefully ⁓ get win number two out there in Omaha against the Sooners and keep marching towards that championship. Our ⁓ our closing thought as we ⁓ as we get back to what really matters is is is the passage in Haggai. This is this is not a a message of condemn condemnation. This is not God telling you you're not working hard enough, you're not trying hard enough. It's a message of course correction. God isn't telling us we're hopeless. He's just saying, hey, stop, look around, and evaluate and ask yourself, how's this working out for you? And just make sure that you're you're giving your life, you're giving your time, and you're giving your attention to the things that actually matter. Speaking of things that actually matter, you know how we always close the show. Get in your Bibles, say your prayers, love one another, and tell the truth. God bless.