Hank Smith: 00:05 Hello, my friends. Welcome to another followHIM Favorites. My name is Hank Smith and I’m here with the amazing John Bytheway. Hello, John Bytheway.

John Bytheway: 00:15 I’m amazed you would say that.

Hank Smith: 00:16 Well, I think you are fantastic, John. This week we are studying Haggai and Zechariah, and for followHIM Favorites this year we’re taking a single question from each week’s lesson. Well, this week’s question, John, is what does it mean to consider your ways? The Lord brings this up a couple of times in the book of Haggai. Consider your ways. What do you think he means by that phrase, “consider your ways”?

John Bytheway: 00:45 As soon as I saw that, it reminded me of one of my favorite proverbs, which says exactly the same thing in different words, ponder the path of thy feet. Ponder or consider, which way are you going? Where are you walking? What are you doing?

Hank Smith: 01:00 Let’s analyze the road we’re on.

John Bytheway: 01:02 What’s it going to lead to? And you and I both love verse 6. “You’ve sown much,” sown, not like needle and thread, but like seeds. “You’ve sown much and bring in little. You eat, but you have not enough. You drink, but you’re not filled with drink. You clothe you, but there’s none warm.” This is the part we thought was funny. “He that earneth wages, earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes.”

Hank Smith: 01:28 You’re putting your money in a purse with holes in it.

John Bytheway: 01:30 It’s like all this stuff you’re doing isn’t doing any good. So then he repeats in verse 7, “Thus saith the Lord of hosts consider your ways.”

Hank Smith: 01:38 I think someone might say it like this, John. They might say, “How’s that working out for you?”

John Bytheway: 01:44 Yeah. So how’s that working for you? And he tells him the answer. It’s, it isn’t is it in Verse 6. Look, you do this and you got nothing out of all this. So, consider your ways. What are we supposed to arrive at when we do that?

Hank Smith: 01:56 I think part of this is saying, let’s analyze where you are right now. Let’s analyze the way you use your time. Let’s analyze your choices of entertainment. Let’s analyze it and let’s see if it’s taking you where you want to go. What is it that you told me? We better want what we really want. Do you really want to head down this road that you’re heading? Do you really want the consequences of these choices? Well, if not, let’s change our choices.

John Bytheway: 02:22 Hank, I had a just awesome sixth grade teacher named Mr. Byer. He had so many quotes on the wall, so many quotations on the wall. And one of them said, “A mature person is able to connect choices with consequences.” And I think considering your ways is, if I do this, then what? And being able to say, “What is the end of this path? What’s the end of this road? And do I even want that?” And for a young person to hear that and do that, boy, they would distinguish themselves highly among young people. Some young people will only think, some adults I guess too, maybe 10, 15 minutes into the future. But imagine if we could think long-term. Look at the new Aaronic priesthood theme, where it talks about I will become a diligent missionary, a loyal husband, a loving father. It has these places that you want to go on the path, and then you consider your choices along that path. The young women theme says similar things about, where am I going? I’m trying to head to the temple.

  03:26 So how should I consider what I’m doing today? Will it lead me to that place that I want to be?

Hank Smith: 03:32 Very good. You don’t want to climb the ladder of success only to find out when you get there it’s leaning against the wrong wall. Let’s analyze, where is this taking me? Where am I going to end up if I continue down this road? Consider your ways.

  03:47 Well, we hope you’ll join us on our podcast. It’s called followHIM. You can get it wherever you get your podcasts. This week we’re with Dr. Anthony Sweat. Tony, we like to call him. And you’re going to love his take on these two books. And then next week come back and join us for another followHIM Favorites.