Articles
What Are My Priorities?
You wouldn’t have needed to be a prophet to fore-see that Samson’s first marriage to the Philistine woman was in trouble. If it had endured, every sign indicated that it would’ve been the most un-happy of unions. This is evidenced by the fact that he clearly had not yet made his wife and home a priority. Granted, she was no peach, and her com-mitment to Samson was certainly questionable in light of her scheming with her countrymen and the manipulation of her husband (Judges 14:15-16). On his part, the explanation he offered for why he would not share the solution to the riddle he had posed to her brethren is very revealing. “Look, I have not explained it to my father or my mother; so should I explain it to you?” (14:16) Having read that, we immediately recognize that this marriage is doomed to fail. It’s a matter of priorities!
We can be mistaken, even self-deceived about our priorities. The rich young ruler, having asked to do some great thing for God, would’ve claimed that spiritual concerns were high on his list. But when he was told to sell his stuff, give to the poor, and follow Jesus, he learned what were his true priori-ties; his actions spoke louder than his words.
When confronted with the question, “What is most important to you in life?” It is tempting to answer according to what we know ought to be our greatest priorities, rather than what we know in our hearts is actually most important to us. Per-haps we justify ourselves by convincing ourselves that the time will come when what we’ve claimed about ourselves will actually be true, even if it is not yet true. We desire and intend that such is the case, but it cannot yet be shown by our actions. This is dangerous because God will not judge us by our intentions, but by our choices and actions. He did not explain His response on Judgment Day in terms of “Well thought…” or “Well intended…”, but “Well done…!”
Consider some questions that should help us get real about our priorities:
What would others say are our priorities? Others may not know us as well as we know ourselves, but they are often more objective about what they do know. Our neighbors could probably sum up in a word or two what we really value, just as we can easily perceive what matters to them. Perhaps more than anybody, our children could speak to what really matters to us.
What do we think about? Especially, what do we think about when we have nothing else to think about? When not being distracted by all kinds of urgent demands that life throws at us daily, what is it that captivates our attention when we finally get a moment to ourselves? The man whose thoughts and meditations are far from God, except in certain “religious settings,” is deceiv-ing himself if he thinks that God is the highest priority of his life.
What do we talk about? Perhaps there is no better way of identifying a man’s priority than by listening to him speak. Jesus taught that a man’s mouth is filled with the things that fill his heart (Luke 6:45). The parent who posts end-lessly about what their child has said or done today is clearly very fond of his child. If we never find God’s word on our tongue, never offer His answers as our answers, how can we say that it fills our hearts? If we never speak of Him except, again, in certain “religious settings,” how can we say that our hearts are devoted to Him? Even still, our speech is not the only indicator. Some pro-fess much love with their mouths but they do not show it by their actions (Ezek. 33:31). The following points speak to our actions.
How do we spend our time? I don’t know many people who say that they have too much free time on their hands; most of us would like to have more. But, the question is, what would we do with it if we got it? What we do with our "spare" time goes a long way in revealing our priorities.
The aforementioned neighbors whose priorities we said were easily per-ceived, are seen in such things as the meticulousness of the lawn, the insane
mowing schedule, the obsessiveness with which the man’s car is maintained, or the inordinate amount of time spent lounging by the pool.
Every year when I attend Bible lectures in Florida there are always families with children who have taken vacation time in part to attend lectures on the Bible. I am thankful to be offered a professional expense of time to participate in these studies, but there is no questioning the priorities of a family who uses part of its vacation time to devote to God’s word. What do our vacations show, especially on the Lord’s Day?
How do we spend our money? You’re probably starting to get the point. Take a look at the expenditures a man justifies and contrast it with other expenditures which he is unwilling to make, and you will have some insight as to what he values. Allow me a brief moment to meddle: why do we buy cheap Bibles for ourselves? Perhaps, you want one for the car and you know it will get baked on the dash or slide around as you corner, fraying the edges. Okay, I get it. But, what about our primary Bibles? If you can, invest in a nice Bible. You buy quali-ty tools. You buy a genuine leather purse. Why buy something you know will soon come apart at the seam or with pages so thin you know they will soon rip? Do your research. Get one that will last! This tool is your life! No, you’re not sinning if you own a cheap Bible. Yes, you can still get to heaven with a cheap Bible. I told you I was meddling.
What "gives" when we face a conflict of priorities? Of the many conflicts involv-ing priorities, perhaps none are more aggravating than "scheduling" conflicts. With it being impossible to be two places at once, we often have to sacrifice one activity for another. When that happens, if the things of God take a backseat to worldly activities, we reveal something of our priorities. In the matter of sports for example, we often attempt to manage it so that church responsibilities and the team don’t conflict; this is one of the great benefits of having coached some of my kids’ teams; I got to pick the practice times. This is great when this works out, but this effort doesn’t necessarily reveal our great-est priorities. Nothing does that like a true scheduling conflict.
How then do I, in all honesty, know what my priorities are? By looking at what I am doing with my life. Paul wrote, "To whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one's slaves whom you obey, whether of sin to death, or of obedience to righteousness" (Rom. 6:16). To whom do you truly belong?
