What Is Your Priority?

I find that being too heavy handed can diminish the receipt and the impact of a message, but I'll risk it as I endeavor to amplify a point made in yesterday's sermon entitled, "Will You Be Ready?"

Conventional wisdom states that you can always tell what's most important to someone by where they spend the greatest percentage of their time and resources. I would add that the beneficiary of the expenditure may be what's most important rather than the activity itself. For instance, a person that spends 12 hours a day at work may have providing for his or her family as their priority rather than the job itself.

Far too often, however, what a person does with the majority of their time is indicative of what is important to them. Most people will deny this when confronted with it, but there is much truth in what can be seen in a person's activity.

Many of us claim that losing weight is a priority. The reality is that it cannot be if none of our time is spent pushing away from the table or getting exercise. By default, the enjoyment of food and leisure outweight the importance of sacrificing to change it. Can the health of a marriage be a priority to someone who spends little to no time communicating with, dating and sharing with their spouse?

This brings me to our Christian walk.

Allow me to ask all of us some challenging questions:

• How much time do you spend in prayer every day? Is it just at meal and bed times?
• How much time do you spend reading/studying your bible outside of scheduled classes at the building in a week?
• Does your giving exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees?
• Are you conducting any bible studies?
• Do you return for evening services or participate in Life Groups?
• Do you come on Wednesday evenings?
• How many of the un-churched have you shared the gospel with in the last year?
• Do you visit the sick and the shut in?
• Is your best friend a member of the church?
• Do members of the church make up a significant percentage of your social circle?
• Are you walking "in the light" or "in the flesh?"
• Are you reaching out to all people, especially those of the household of faith?
• Are you loving God with all of your heart, all of your soul and all of your mind?
• Are you loving others as Jesus loves you?
• Of the approximately 112 waking hours we have each week, how many are dedicated to HIM?

These (and others) are questions that we must ask ourselves each day. The love of God must be REAL to us. The promise of Heaven must be REAL to us. The dangers of Satan and Hell must be REAL to us. And we as Christians must strive to live our lives in faith according to REALITY.

There is an old saying that asks, "If you don't have time to do it right the first time, when will you have time to do it again?" We must be serious about our relationship with God...


...while we have time.


May the great God of Heaven grant you every spiritual blessing.