“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” — Matthew 6:33
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Priorities. What’s important to you? As we go through different stages of our lives, the list of what’s important tends to change. I remember at 8 years old how important my bike and G.I. Joe were to me. When I was 13, it was all about basketball and MJ (Michael Jordan for non-basketball fans). At 16, it became about girls, cars and my hair. As an adult, my list changed to my wife and kids, finances, paying the bills, my education, my career, my kids schooling, and planning for the future.
No matter how old we are, we all have a list — a list of our priorities. What’s really important to you? It could be family, job, recreation, house, vacation, 401(k). The list can go on and on.
God taught me an important lesson about priorities when I suffered a shoulder injury back in college playing basketball. Like many of you, God was on my list but not at the top. For me, He had to take basketball away to get my full attention.
Where is God on your list? I pray that you have accepted Christ as your personal Savior and He is important to you. I pray that He is on your list. If He is not, take the time to ask God to forgive you of your sins and be your Savior. You can begin that relationship with Him today.
For those who have already made that decision, is God at the top of your list? Is there something in your life that’s more important than Him? As today’s Bible verse in Matthew reminds us, “Seek first his kingdom.” God needs to be No. 1 in your life. Anything that comes before Him is an “idol.” Even good things like our family, our job, our wife, our kids, our ministry can somehow overtake our time, effort and energy. Be careful of the “idols” you have in your life. Confess them before God and re-prioritize.
As I looked over my list and re-evaluated my life, God taught me to not only make Him the top priority, He taught me to make Him my list. I needed to move everything else to the other side — my job, my family, my career, my hobbies. I needed to focus totally on God. God doesn’t belong in that list or on that list, because He is holy. He is omnipotent. He is God. All my other so-called “important” things need to be on the other side, opposite of God. He needed to be my list. My prayer is that you make God your list!
Prayer: “Dear God, it is so easy to focus all of our attention on material things. It’s easy to place all of our effort and energy on our so-called “priorities.” Please forgive me of the idols in my life. May I keep You at the top of my list. Rather, may I make You my entire list today, God.”
— Jim Good
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