Priorities
(Exhortation - August 1999)
But what are priorities?
The dictionary defines them as: "Precedence in rank, etc., or an interest, having a prior claim or consideration." In layman’s terms, a priority is something that is so important to us, it comes first with respect to other things. It is axiomatic then that God and our service to Him should be the priority in our lives.
Examples from scripture
The scriptures abound with individuals who were successful in prioritizing and we do
well to consider their examples. The lovely incident of the poor widow casting all her
living into the treasury is one such illustration.
"And he looked up, and saw the rich men casting their gifts into the treasury. And he saw also a certain poor widow casting in thither two mites. And he said, Of a truth I say unto you, that this poor widow hath cast in more than they all: for all these have of their abundance cast in unto the offerings of God: but she of her penury hath cast in all the living that she had" (Luke 21:1-4).
We are struck immediately by the generosity of this poor widow and wonder why she did this. What drove her to donate all of her money? We can only surmise, but it is obvious that the matter was of extreme importance to her. It was an absolute priority in her life to contribute to God’s work.
At a time of great wickedness, it was said of the man Noah:
"But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord...Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God. And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth. And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth" (Gen. 6:8-9, 12,13).
Now came the command which would be a test of faith and endurance. Noah was told to build a vessel of tremendous proportions:
"Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch. And this is the fashion which thou shalt make it of: the length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits. A window shalt thou make to the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou finish it above; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof; with lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make it" (Gen. 6:14-16).
In today’s measurements, the ark would be 450 feet long, 75 feet wide and 45 feet tall. These dimensions are longer than a football field, more than twice as wide as the average house and four stories tall. No wonder it took Noah a 120 years of perseverance and dedication to build it. To achieve such a momentous task, it must have been of great importance to Noah -- in fact, the ark was a total commitment and dedication of his life. A priority indeed!
There is a modern-day colloquialism, "Time is money." Are we prepared to devote both time and money to the service of our Master, as did Noah and the widow in faith? It is a question of priorities.
Commitment of the apostles
Once they had found Jesus their Messiah, Andrew, Peter and Philip all followed Jesus
immediately.
"And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus...One of the two which heard John speak, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ. And he brought him to Jesus…The day following Jesus would go forth into Galilee, and findeth Philip, and saith unto him, Follow me" (Jn. 1:37,40,41,43).
Similarly Paul, after his conversion, dedicated his life to spreading the Gospel. From that point on there was no hesitation, nor looking back. This was important to all of them – the number one priority in their lives.
David’s inspiration
Jesus has not called us directly, face to face, nor have we been blinded by his
presence in a shining light. How then can we be energized to follow Jesus and serve God
with the same vigor and dedication? David shows us the way in his passion for the word of
God.
"Oh how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day. Consider how I love your precepts. Revive me O Lord, according to your lovingkindness. The entirety of your word is truth, and every one of your righteous judgements endures forever" (Ps. 119:97,159,160 NKJV).
The study and meditation of God’s word is the only sure way we can obtain insight into the setting and application of the right priorities. But even so, sometimes we can get caught up with everyday life and go off track.
Food for thought
The following anonymous list provides food for thought. Why is it that:
Twenty dollars looks so big when we take it to the meeting and so small when we take it to the store?
An hour serving God seems long and sixty minutes playing seems so short?
We can’t think of anything to say when we pray, and yet we have no difficulty thinking of things to say to our friends?
We don’t have time to do the readings, yet we spend hours watching the television?
We claim that we believe Jesus is coming soon, but spend more time and energy thinking about retirement and life insurance than we do telling others the Good News?
We find a Bible talk that goes on longer than expected unbearable, but a football game that goes on longer than expected is exciting?
We need two to three weeks to fit an ecclesial event into our schedule, but can adjust our schedule for a social event at the last moment?
It is hard to read a chapter in the Bible but so easy to read a
best-selling novel?
The content of the above may be somewhat facetious, but it is a truism that our convictions will always be demonstrated by how we spend our time.
The priority of Jesus
Our Lord Jesus Christ demonstrated the ultimate success of putting God first.
As a young boy he began to study God’s word and made the right choices.
After frantically searching for their twelve-year-old and finding him confounding the experts with his scriptural knowledge, the parents of Jesus chided him. His response was one that his mother was never to forget. "How is it that ye sought me? Wist ye not that I must be about my Father’s business?" (Lk. 2:49).
Another intimate incident involving his family demonstrates how our Lord chose God’s work to the exclusion of all, even his beloved mother.
"And the multitude sat about him, and they said unto him, behold, thy mother and thy brethren without seek for thee. And he answered them, saying, Who is my mother, or my brethren? And he looked round about on them which sat about him, and said, behold my mother and my brethren! For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and my sister, and mother" (Mk. 3:32-35).
It is natural and good that we love our family and our homes, considering them a great blessing from the Lord. Sometimes however, we allow them to become an obsession which drains all our time and attention. It is a salutary thought to remember that the Son of God had no material wealth. "And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head" (Matt. 8:20). Unencumbered by a home or possessions to the point of having nowhere to call his own, Jesus was able to direct his energies to doing the will of his Heavenly Father. His priority was obedience.
The wisdom and strength obtained from his love for and application to the word of God enabled Jesus to resist temptation, endure ridicule, torture and crucifixion, thereby ensuring salvation for us. Profoundly thankful to him, we now bring our thoughts to focus upon the emblems before us in memory of his sacrifice. Let us, then, as we take the bread and wine, ask for God’s forgiveness and seek His help in setting our own personal priorities.
Steve Curry