Priorities
5 minutes on the word
"Priorities." Go.
Set them. Set them intentionally or you’ll end up
with some unintentionally.
I was having a
conversation with a friend and he shared that his priorities for this season
are 1)God 2)His work/co-workers 3)the youth/youth leaders. It was refreshing to hear someone be able
to state so clearly who/what they are to be investing in. I said something brilliant back to him in
response…but now I can’t remember what it was. Oh well. Guess it was only for him.
When we set our
priorities we can then see what isn’t on the list…what is NOT priority. And then it’s a bit easier to call them out
for what they are – things that are TRYING to press in and take over but, in
reality, they AREN’T THAT IMPORTANT (or they aren't what we're supposed to be
focusing on at the moment) …they are things that can wait and, in alot of those
cases, we can begin to recognize that those things are more preferences than
priorities.
Big broad priorities (in a very particular order): God, my husband, my children, my community
Preferences (in no particular order): naps, cherry coke, cleanliness, being on
time
If the preferences
start becoming priorities, we’ve got issues…addictions….problems. If the priorities start getting out of
order (particularly if nick, our children or the community) start coming before
my relationship with God, I’ve created idols and am actively worshipping them.
Sometimes we have to
actively choose in the moment to keep those priorities in order….other times it
just happens because of the life decisions we’ve made.
Random real life example: ever since Eli was born, I’ve tried to
spend my time alone with God during my children’s afternoon naptime – pretty
soon after lunch they nap/rest/play quietly in their room and I give God my
full attention. There have been plenty of times where I
have had to CHOOSE to ignore the dishes in the sink, the pile of clothes to be
folded, the stack of papers to be sorted, the emails that need to be responded
to, the ___________ that is screaming at me to get done (fill in with any
number of chores/tasks! it's almost amusing what comes up as a
distraction). I can’t say that I’ve always chosen well –
unfortunately there have been a number of days when I thought I needed to “just
check one email first” or “just do this one chore”….and then, before I know it,
the kids are up and I’ve ended up wasting the entire time NOT giving God my
full attention. Why would I ever choose to wash dishes when
my Savior is sitting on the couch waiting to have a conversation with me?!
Time’s up…but this doesn’t feel done. Oh well.
Stick to the rules. Rule keeping...priority or preference?!
