Priorities

I am 42 years old.  My father died at 52.  My grandfather passed at 52.  So I have this ticking time clock in my mind.  10 more years.  I know, I know, “you are not your father or grandfather”.  I understand this.  But still, I embrace the time clock.  I think it is somewhat of motivator, a prioritizing tool.  The scripture that often comes to my mind is Ephesians 5:16 “making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.”  I often catch myself loafing in life.  I think about 10 more years (or sooner) I very well could be done with my earthly work.  Questions go through my mind such as, have I been a good steward with my time, have I used my talents, have I witnessed my faith, have I been a Godly father and husband?  One major focus has been on priorities.  Let me elaborate.

I have taken two angles to the issue of priorities.  One angle is priority in terms of what is most important in life in a macro sense.  The second angle is what is most important in a micro sense.  The former in many ways informs and selects the latter.  For instance, if one’s macro life priority is making money to get things then the micro priority is to daily spend time working to acquire money.  Or if one’s macro priority is to spread the gospel, then the micro priority is to daily spend time witnessing.

That may be an oversimplification but it’s true.  If you want to know what your life’s priority and goals are, look at what you are spending time doing every day.  What you do with your time, money, energy everyday is what your overarching goals look like.  Say a person *says* that their life is devoted to Christ.   Yet their daily activity, speech, time investment, energy investment, financial investment has nothing to do with Jesus.   That persons macro goals or priorities probably are not Christ centered.

I do not presume to impose upon anyone goals or priorities.  Yet I would like to throw some suggestions out.

First, your pursuit of happiness.  This is a macro priority.   Be careful here and choose wisely.   It is here that many poor souls have lost their way, the have selfishly chosen and ended up addicted to drugs, sex, work and their daily life consists of trying to get a fix.

Consider happiness in the person of Jesus.  He is altogether lovely and beautiful.  There is none that compares to his glory.  He never fails and is inexhaustible in his riches.

Love for Him will inform your micro priorities.  Your daily priority will consist of making disciples, reading the Bible (and loving it), glorying in tribulation, prayers, living Godly in this present age, warring against sin and this world, resisting the devil, looking for a city whose builder and make is God, glorying in the Cross, and the like.

This is the type of priorities I strive to have.  I can determine my macro priority by my daily investments.  So I desire to trust and love Christ more every day.  I pray that I will make the best use of my time so that when my life is over I will hear the Lord say “well done my good and faithful servant you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many”.