Have you ever sat and thought about your priorities in life? We all have them, whether we have actually thought them out or not. Most of us just run on automatic and do the things in life that we see others doing. The “Keeping Up With The Joneses” attitude is one example of this.
Our society tells us that we need to work harder and longer, so that we can make more money and buy more stuff. Who has the biggest TV or nicest car or most luxurious house becomes the scale on which we mark our success. But this way of thinking is a lie!
This lie is perpetuated into our lives, constantly, through advertisements, television, the Internet, our friends, our enemies, and just about any other way you can imagine. But, it does not have to be that way.
Acts 2:44-47 tells a different story:
44 Now all the believers were together and had everything in common.
45 So they sold their possessions and property and distributed the proceeds to all, as anyone had a need.
46 And every day they devoted themselves to meeting together in the temple complex, and broke bread from house to house. They ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart,
47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And every day the Lord added to them those who were being saved.
Their motivation was not inward, but outward. They were focused on God and others and not themselves. The “American Dream” tells us we can have it all, but God’s dream for us is much different.
Matthew 22:37-38 says:
37 He said to him, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.
38 This is the greatest and most important commandment.
Verse 39 continues this with:
39 The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.
Verse 40 explains why:
40 All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commandments.”
These words were spoken to us by Jesus, therefore I do not think we should take them lightly. I encourage you to take a few minutes and prayerfully sit down with a piece of paper and a pencil. Write a list of your priorities in life right now. Then, make a list that shows what you believe God’s priorities are for your life. The challenge is to make the two lists match.