Importance and Priority
01/04/07 23:23
If you
were in the crowd on the day that Jesus entered
Jerusalem riding on the donkey, do you think that you
would have been praising Him? Where would you think
you might have been, in the midst of the crowd or on
its outskirts? Would you have been there because of
Jesus or because of the excitement of the crowd? Do
you think you would have laid your garment down for
the donkey to tread upon? There was once a Pharisee
who invited Jesus to his house. While there, Jesus
reminded him that he had failed to greet Jesus with a
kiss, wash His feet or anoint His head with oil when
He arrived. And yet there was a “sinful”
woman who barged her way into the house that day and
washed His feet with her tears while she kissed them
with her lips, dried them with her hair and anointed
them with perfume!
One of the least practical things to do in this “real” world is the very thing that Jesus said was the most important; “To love God with all your heart, strength and mind.” If we each were asked if we did this, undoubtedly we would give a resounding, “Yes.” But if we each took an honest assessment of our daily lives, we might come up with an altogether different conclusion. When I say that loving God isn’t practical in this “real” world, I am speaking from a worldly premise and worldly philosophy. I must! Because so many Christians these days are under the false idea that while we are in the world we might as well live like the world. Now, I know that I’m going to catch a lot of flack for that one, but hear me out. Living like the world doesn’t just entail drinking, smoking, cussing and “fooling” around. Living like the world means to accept and apply worldly philosophies to our daily lives. Which could include anything from work ethics, raising our children and entertaining ourselves to retirement, final burial and everything in between. I was speaking to someone the other day and they told me they were so sleepy in church that they didn’t get much out of it. After inquiring about their sleep habits I found out that they hadn’t gotten to sleep on Saturday until really, really early on Sunday morning! They had been busy (with entertainment) all day on Saturday. Now, if you excuse the sleepiness on Sunday thinking that going to bed late isn’t wrong, then you have missed the importance of going to bed earlier so that you are more prepared on Sunday. (After all, God understands if I don’t get a lot out of service because I got to bed so late.) If I plan a Saturday excursion that is a completely legitimate pleasure, but fail to set it as a lower priority than the events that God wants to take place in my life on Sunday, then I have failed to love God with all my heart, strength and mind. Just because God doesn’t begrudge us legitimate pleasures, it doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t prioritize them correctly. This not only includes entertainment like sports, dining out, movies and cards, but it also includes areas like employment, schooling and careers. We have to be careful that we do not accept the “practical” ways of the world that hinder our love (action) toward God. Believe me: If you were in that crowd on that day and you only had one garment to throw underneath the feet of that donkey –the One who was atop that beast of burden would certainly expect you to throw it!
One of the least practical things to do in this “real” world is the very thing that Jesus said was the most important; “To love God with all your heart, strength and mind.” If we each were asked if we did this, undoubtedly we would give a resounding, “Yes.” But if we each took an honest assessment of our daily lives, we might come up with an altogether different conclusion. When I say that loving God isn’t practical in this “real” world, I am speaking from a worldly premise and worldly philosophy. I must! Because so many Christians these days are under the false idea that while we are in the world we might as well live like the world. Now, I know that I’m going to catch a lot of flack for that one, but hear me out. Living like the world doesn’t just entail drinking, smoking, cussing and “fooling” around. Living like the world means to accept and apply worldly philosophies to our daily lives. Which could include anything from work ethics, raising our children and entertaining ourselves to retirement, final burial and everything in between. I was speaking to someone the other day and they told me they were so sleepy in church that they didn’t get much out of it. After inquiring about their sleep habits I found out that they hadn’t gotten to sleep on Saturday until really, really early on Sunday morning! They had been busy (with entertainment) all day on Saturday. Now, if you excuse the sleepiness on Sunday thinking that going to bed late isn’t wrong, then you have missed the importance of going to bed earlier so that you are more prepared on Sunday. (After all, God understands if I don’t get a lot out of service because I got to bed so late.) If I plan a Saturday excursion that is a completely legitimate pleasure, but fail to set it as a lower priority than the events that God wants to take place in my life on Sunday, then I have failed to love God with all my heart, strength and mind. Just because God doesn’t begrudge us legitimate pleasures, it doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t prioritize them correctly. This not only includes entertainment like sports, dining out, movies and cards, but it also includes areas like employment, schooling and careers. We have to be careful that we do not accept the “practical” ways of the world that hinder our love (action) toward God. Believe me: If you were in that crowd on that day and you only had one garment to throw underneath the feet of that donkey –the One who was atop that beast of burden would certainly expect you to throw it!
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