The greatest commandment God has ever given us was to love Him above all and to love Him with our all.
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. (Mk 12:30)
Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. (Mat 6:33 NLT)
God has done so much for us, how could we not love Him in return by keeping Him first in our lives?! I want to do this, don’t you? But how do you and I keep our priorities straight? How do we keep other things, even good things, from sneaking into first place?
Many have said that to get your priorities straight—you do it in this order:
1. God
2. Spouse
3. Children
4. Job
5. Ministry
6. Other
Does that mean that your priorities have gotten out of whack if you stop to take care of a child’s urgent need while having devotions? Absolutely not!
If you have to work overtime occasionally, are you putting your job ahead of your family? Not necessarily.
So how do you keep your priorities straight all the time?
One of my pastors gave me the answer that has served me well through the years in calming my fears of not being right with my Savior. He said it was better to put God at the center of your life, period. Then seek His will in each of the other areas in your life. The analogy is more like a wheel with spokes than a hierarchy, where we ask God for direction concerning each area.
Our lives are complicated, and it is very easy to get off balance. If we place too much emphasis in one area over another our roll in life will be wobbly.
For example, if you’re a new mom with an infant, you will have to spend more time with your baby than your husband for a while. That doesn’t mean the baby is more important to you than your husband. However, if you’re not seeking God’s wisdom, it could seem that way to your spouse. If God is at the center of your life, then the Lord will guide you in how you can communicate that you still love and value your man. He will show you if you are spending too much of your attention on the baby and not enough on your husband. Then if you listen to God’s guidance, your life will be a smoother ride.
Let’s take a different example of a full-time pastor who is devoted to God and his congregation. If he is not careful in seeking wisdom from the Lord, he will place too much emphasis on his ministry and not enough on his wife, children, rest, etc. This pastor thinks God is at the very center of his existence, but without God’s counsel and direction, his life may result in a neglected and resentful family and/or a burnout in his ministry and relationships.
We are too unwise to try to live for God on our own. We need God’s enabling power and wisdom, and showing our dependence upon our Savior is both pleasing and honoring to Him. Revolving our lives around God shows Him the weight of importance we place on Him. It shows that we are valuing Him.
“For in Him we live and move and have our being….” (Acts 17:28)
So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. (1 Cor 10:31)
So my friend, evaluate your priorities often and make sure God is at the center of your life. Remind yourself what Jesus said to Simon Peter…
Do you love me more than these?
(Jn 21:15)
Then don’t worry, but ask God to help you keep Him first, and trust Him to grant your heart’s desire (Ps 37:4).
Related Resources
What Does It Mean to Love God with Our Whole Being? Series
How to Know God‘s Will
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Post adapted from Our Knowable God Chapter 8 by Rose Noland
Except where indicated all Scripture quotations are taken from The Holy Bible: New International Version®. NIV. ® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.
(NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.