Setting Priorities

There's a lot I want to write about -- nothing new -- and with three separate blogs and a church web-site, I've got the space and place, just not the time. However, I read something today that I received in my email from one of those daily "God's Promises" emails. (If you want to get that email just click here and subscribe to the "God's Daily Promises". Be careful, there's other ones there too. Make sure you read carefully before you click anything. That's how spamming starts!) So that's where I want to start.

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Seeking God's will first brings perspective

How do I set priorities?

". . .And He will give you all you need from day to day if you live for Him and make the Kingdom of God your primary concern. "

Matthew 6:33

Be intentional about priorities. Set them and tend to them first. Only then will your life have its fullest meaning.
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That's a new way of putting Matthew 6:33. The more traditional translations sound more like this: "But seek first His Kingdom and His Righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." I know this. I know it's good. I know it's true. And if you've been a Christian for some time, you know this as well.

But how hard is it to do in such a society as ours?! How hard is it to put God as our top priority every day?! I'm not making excuses and I'm not shirking my responsibility, but honestly, with work, family, friends, church (!?! Yeah, church responsibilities CAN be devoid of any service/worship to GOD) and your own needs/wants, how do you practically make God your priority?

Well, every day, we make something our priority based on many factors: ease of doing it, brings joy or happiness, brings money, get instant or fairly quick results/fruit from it, etc. So, we do prioritize. Where your heart is, that is where you will put your priorities.

Let's not kid ourselves. The reason you don't take part in more things with the church or do more things for God is that, deep down inside, you have other priorities. But the reality is, as God's children, He is our number one priority... At least He should be. And the great thing about it, when we do make Him our number one priority, then ALL the other stuff will be taken care of. Boy, THAT is where, I believe most of us get hung up. We don't really believe everything else will be taken care of. And I think I have the reason why. We separate the two!

Serving God and make Him a priority is one thing. Prayer, worship time, service, that is all separate and for God. BUT, my work, my family, my needs are a whole other entity that require my attention and time as well. NO.

When we change the way we view what service and worship to God is, then we can see that it is all part of the same thing. Why are we so dualistic (I don't know if that's the right word here) in the west. We need a more holistic approach to life. WHATEVER we do, we must do it as if we are doing it for the LORD. Heard that one before? (1 Corinthians 10:31)

I think too many Christians take Matthew 6:33, and say, "OK, I'll give God my morning devotion time." What? That's 10 minutes? 30 minutes? Maybe 1 hour? Don't get me wrong that's great... But then what about the rest of the day? God doesn't want us all to become monks and "worship" Him 24/7 (though there may be some of us out there). But He does want us to put Him at the forefront of everything we do. In that way, we do put Him first in all things!

I remember a few years back when I was a TA at Condordia University. I was administrating a lab exam. And there was this Indian student (from India, not native), and before every question, I saw him put his hands together, bow his head, and mutter something under his breath. He was praying (to some hindu god). I was amazed at how he was giving each question to his god before he even attempted it. Now, maybe it was because he wasn't prepared and he did not know what he was doing (he failed the exam). Nevertheless, the point was that even in such a small, seemingly insignificant thing, his god was made a priority.

How often do we do that? How often do we recognize the our God, the True and Living God, the One and Only God, has given us everything we have: family, friends, work, church, clothes, food. How often do we thank and praise Him for all that. You know, I am so thankful to God for the first two and a half years of marriage with Cindy, during which we went through some real tough financial times. Once we went two weeks eating instant noodles because we could not buy anything else. But it taught us to trust God for all our needs. The amazing thing was that even though we were VERY tight on cash, working part-time only (unable to find full-time work), we never lacked. We never missed a mortgage payment. We never missed a car payment. We never missed a meal, for a reason other than fasting... And trust me, we did not fast all that much in those first couple of years.

So how do we put God first, practically. I think, again, the Apostle Paul gives us the clue. "Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)

Be blessed!