Getting Your Priorities Straight
Thursday, August 22, 2024
All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation. 2 Cor. 5:18, NIV.
We all have certain things we do in life that we value. But how much of a good thing is too much? For example, is there such a thing as being too religious? too concerned with your health? too generous?
My first instinct is to respond, "No. These are all good things, and none of us are in any danger of doing too much of them." However, on second thought, what about the person preoccupied with his or her own salvation to the neglect of others? Or what about the person who makes health his or her god, putting physical perfection above all the other important priorities in life? And what about the person whose generosity results in distributing to strangers what the family really needs to survive?
The truly healthy person is one who seeks balance, who recognizes a time and a place for everything. When I come home from work each evening, my 2-year-old, Caitlin, thinks the first hour of the evening is her time. She believes that my job is to play blocks with her. Now, I'll be candid enough to say that some evenings playing with blocks isn't the highest thing on my personal agenda. But I'm also aware that it is very definitely the highest thing on hers. So I spend most evenings playing with blocks. I don't do it because I love blocks, but because I love Caitlin.
Life is like that. We choose the components in our life not just from among the things we enjoy but from among the things that contribute to what we value. God values reconciling us to Himself, and enlisting us in reconciling others to Him through a witness for Him that is open, loving, and accepting. Is that what others sense in us?
"In the life of the true Christian there are no nonessentials. . . . We shall be judged by what we ought to have done, but did not accomplish because we did not use our powers to glorify God" (Prophets and Kings, p. 488).
List the five most important things in your life. Did the way you spent your time yesterday reflect those values? What changes should you make so the values you live reflect the values you claim to hold?
We all have certain things we do in life that we value. But how much of a good thing is too much? For example, is there such a thing as being too religious? too concerned with your health? too generous?
My first instinct is to respond, "No. These are all good things, and none of us are in any danger of doing too much of them." However, on second thought, what about the person preoccupied with his or her own salvation to the neglect of others? Or what about the person who makes health his or her god, putting physical perfection above all the other important priorities in life? And what about the person whose generosity results in distributing to strangers what the family really needs to survive?
The truly healthy person is one who seeks balance, who recognizes a time and a place for everything. When I come home from work each evening, my 2-year-old, Caitlin, thinks the first hour of the evening is her time. She believes that my job is to play blocks with her. Now, I'll be candid enough to say that some evenings playing with blocks isn't the highest thing on my personal agenda. But I'm also aware that it is very definitely the highest thing on hers. So I spend most evenings playing with blocks. I don't do it because I love blocks, but because I love Caitlin.
Life is like that. We choose the components in our life not just from among the things we enjoy but from among the things that contribute to what we value. God values reconciling us to Himself, and enlisting us in reconciling others to Him through a witness for Him that is open, loving, and accepting. Is that what others sense in us?
"In the life of the true Christian there are no nonessentials. . . . We shall be judged by what we ought to have done, but did not accomplish because we did not use our powers to glorify God" (Prophets and Kings, p. 488).
List the five most important things in your life. Did the way you spent your time yesterday reflect those values? What changes should you make so the values you live reflect the values you claim to hold?
Used by permission of Health Ministries, North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists.
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