#MorningGlory
RTTBROS
Alphabetizing Your Life
by Dr. Paul Chappell
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess.
Matthew 23:23-25
It is very easy for us to allow our lives to be filled with things—often good things—that crowd out things that are even more important. Doing something that is good is no substitute for doing what matters most. Thirty years ago, Readers' Digest ran this story. “Michael Swenson was clocking late nights at the office working as a financial analyst for a large corporation. One night he got in around 12:30 and crawled into bed. His wife woke up and stated, 'You've got to alphabetize.' Swenson was confused so he asked, 'What do you mean?' She replied, 'Wife comes before work.'"
In every area of life, whether it is marriage, parenting, work, church, or something else, it is crucial for us to keep our focus on what comes first. The urgent will easily crowd out the important if we let it, leaving us with no time or energy to do critical things. When it comes to our days, we must set our priorities in the right order, or we will not be able to accomplish what God has set before us to do.
And before anything else, we must put God at the top of our list. Nothing can be allowed to take His rightful place—first place. Paul wrote, “And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence” (Colossians 1:18). There is no part of life where God should not come first.
Today's Growth Principle:
What God calls and commands us to do must take priority over everything else in our lives.
No comments:
Post a Comment