Priorities

The Apostle Paul encourages us to examine the priorities of our life. His command to Timothy (and by extension us) is to focus on living the way God commands in a faithful, loving, determined and gentle way. Ponder those words. To do this requires all our effort. If we do these things, we will maintain our joy. Is our main goal pleasing ourselves or pleasing God? Paul says in 1 Timothy 6:11-12: “Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness. Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called.” He tells us this because there is going to come a time when the work, we as builders have done must stand, and he wishes for us to have built our spiritual lives to withstand that time of judgment. Everyone’s work will be put through the fire to see whether or not it keeps its value. If the work survives the fire, that builder will receive a reward. And that should be a priority as we finish our days in this short life of ours.

Making a living and making a life are two different goals. The Bible tells us to lay up treasures in heaven: We are to be rich in good deeds, and generous, willing to share. In this way, those who heed the Lord’s instruction will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is indeed life.

God’s priorities and ours are often in a struggle.

 A Native American parable tells about this inner struggle. An elder of the tribe tells the following story: The battle within us is like two wolves fighting against each other. There is a good wolf who wants to do what’s right, but the other wolf always wants to do what’s wrong. Sometimes the good wolf seems stronger and is winning the fight. But sometimes the bad wolf is stronger and is winning.” A young brave asks, “Who will win in the end?”. The elder answered, “The one you feed.” This is so very true in our own life. As we look over the priorities we have, we may find that we really and truly are feeding the wrong wolf. In other words, we cannot be slowed and distracted by fear, bitterness, revenge, obsessing about money, lusting for things, worry, and an unforgiving heart. The next time you find yourself distracted by these negative things, maybe it would help if we simply said, “I don’t have time for this, I have much better things to do.” May God bless you always.

Pastor Dimas