Setting the right priorities is vital for our success as Christians, yet even some very zealous Christians are surprised by what the Bible really teaches on this subject.
As God’s Spirit-begotten children, we are preparing to enter the Kingdom of God. We are about to graduate and be inducted into God’s Family to help rule the world under Jesus Christ. But each of us must qualify for a position of rulership. To help us qualify, we need to prioritize our time.
The Apostle Paul knew how important it is to recognize the value of our time: “And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed” (Romans 13:11).
The less time there is, the more valuable it becomes. And, since time is running out for every one of us, we must be careful to prioritize and use it wisely.
Prioritizing Prevents “Shipwreck”
Satan goes about as a “roaring lion” seeking to devour us spiritually (1 Peter 5:8). Some have already been devoured—“shipwrecked” (1 Timothy 1:18–19).
We must not allow Satan to cause us to be disqualified in this way (Titus 1:15–16)!
How can a Christian suffer spiritual shipwreck? A physical example shows that it is rather easy. The captain of the Exxon Valdez that ran aground and spilled millions of gallons of oil off the coast of Alaska, did not have his priorities right.
What should have been his priorities? To keep the ship on course by following all of the instructions the navigator laid out in the channel; to keep himself sober; to be on deck; to be watching; to be totally in charge of his ship and himself.
Because he was not in charge of his life, his ship ran aground and caused an enormous amount of monetary damage and the death of large numbers of wildlife, as well as extensive pollution of the coastline.
In like manner, some suffer shipwreck spiritually by taking their eyes off the goal! They get their priorities mixed up and soon find themselves run aground. They took their eyes off the spiritual lighthouse and hit the rocks. Their bows split open, the water rushed in, and down they went— shipwrecked!
Priorities for Building Spiritually
God tells us through the Apostle Paul that each of us is building a spiritual edifice. Notice how he describes the way various Christians are going about its construction.
“For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire” (1 Corinthians 3:11–15).
So the foundation is already laid for each of us. But what is the plan we are using to build our spiritual structure? What are the priorities we have set?
To be successful, we have to put our priorities in the right order and pay close attention to each one. Otherwise, when fiery trials come, our spiritual house may be burned up. Perhaps we will be left standing on the foundation, and that will just barely ensure our salvation.
There are four vitally important priorities in a Christian’s life. The first is God—and our personal relationship with Him. If we put any one of the other three priorities first, it is like putting the cart before the horse. So, this is where we will start.
Priority #1: Put God First
“And God spoke all these words, saying: ‘I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me’” (Exodus 20:1–3).
God thundered those words from Mt. Sinai. He further commanded: “You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God…” (vv. 4–5).
God does not want us to worship any other god or put anything else ahead of Him! God says we are to worship Him, and Him alone. He has to be first in our lives.
Notice further: “And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him [Christ], saying, ‘Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?’ He said to him, ‘What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?’ So he answered and said, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and ‘your neighbor as yourself.’ And He said to him, ‘You have answered rightly; do this and you will live’” (Luke 10:25–28).
Clearly, we must put God first—in our minds, our hearts and our lives.
Now how do we put God first? How do we show God that we truly love him? The Apostle John tells us: “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome” (1 John 5:3).
Day by day we are learning how to love God, and we love him more and more as we strive to keep His commandments. “…By this we know that we are in Him. He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked” (1 John 2:5–6).
The way to walk with Christ is to imitate Him—even in our thinking. This can only be done through daily Bible study and prayer.
We need to ask ourselves if we are putting our personal relationship with our Creator first. Or do we allow other things in our lives to come before the true God? Are we striving to keep God’s commandments every day with the help of the Holy Spirit?
Now, if we are putting God first through Bible study and prayer, if we are setting our sights on the Kingdom of God (Matthew 6:33), we will be growing in the character of Almighty God, our heavenly Father. We will be preparing to be born into His Family!
Priority #2: Put Family Second
We know that “family” is extremely important to God because He is in the process of preparing to expand His divine Family. So it follows that our physical families should be priority number two.
Our family relationships begin with our parents. The fifth commandment tells us, “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you” (Exodus 20:12). This applies to all parents, deserving or not. God did not say, “If they are worthy of it.” Some have had good relationships with their mothers and fathers; some have not. We are still commanded to honor them!
God considers honoring our parents so important that during the Old Testament dispensation, He pronounced the death penalty on any who would strike their fathers or mothers, or even curse them (Exodus 21:15, 17). That is how seriously God looks at honoring our parents! We must not lift a hand against them, either physically or psychologically.
Some of our parents are dead now. There is nothing more we can do for them except clean up our attitude toward them. Of course, our family relationships will also include love and respect toward our other relatives by blood or marriage.
Part of our second priority in life includes love and respect toward our mates. The Apostle Paul instructs husbands and wives, “Let the husband render to his wife the affection due her, and likewise also the wife to her husband” (1 Corinthians 7:3).
If we affirmed before God that we were going to take this man or this woman, and God solemnized that service and that wedding, are we going to break our word before God by not loving them, or by putting our mate away? We promised to take our mate until death do us part, through both sickness and good health.
Paul further states, “And a woman who has a husband who does not believe, if he is willing to live with her, let her not divorce him. For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband; otherwise your children would be unclean, but now they are holy” (vv. 13–14).
Devastation occurs within families broken by divorce. Those who have come from divorced homes know the hurt, the pain and suffering they went through as children. How can parents do that to their little innocent babies that come out of their own bodies? It is because of selfishness that they do not want to keep the family together any longer!
The big problem in marriage is that when a husband and wife come together and live with each other for a while, and the “honeymoon is over,” suddenly one or the other mate realizes that this person is not really the way she, or he, thought they were. Then the mate goes to work in an attempt to change the other.
This is entirely the wrong approach! We must never forget what marriage symbolizes: two becoming one—one flesh!
“So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church. For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones” (Ephesians 5:28–30).
When a husband and wife become “one flesh” and produce children from this union, these children belong to both parents. They are part of our physical families, and sometimes our spiritual families, when they are converted.
Children grow up so quickly! We need to love them, frequently picking them up and hugging them. Let them know they are really loved. Let them know you are first in their lives.
Sometimes there has to be a little correction to help channel a child in the way he or she should go. But Paul warns fathers, “…do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged” (Colossians 3:21).
Do not discourage your children by demanding perfection. When God first called us and we realized He is our heavenly Father, were we able to suddenly be perfect? The answer is a resounding “no”! Rather, we should be patient with our children, just as our heavenly Father is patient with us—His Spirit-begotten children. Again, fathers are told, “do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4).
Children have an important obligation within the family as well. Notice Paul’s instruction directed to them: “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right” (v. 1). Yes, they should obey their parents—“in the Lord.” Once again Paul instructs children, “‘Honor your father and mother’, which is the first commandment with promise: that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth” (vv. 2–3).
Priority #3: Work Diligently
The Apostle Paul gave greetings to, “The elder, to the beloved Gaius, whom I love in truth: Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers” (3 John 1–2). God inspired these words. He wants us to prosper. But in order to prosper, we must be diligent in our work.
Solomon said: “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might; for there is no work or device or knowledge or wisdom in the grave where you are going” (Ecclesiastes 9:10). Solomon also said: “He who has a slack hand becomes poor, but the hand of the diligent makes rich” (Proverbs 10:4).
“Here is what I have seen,” says Solomon. “It is good and fitting for one to eat and drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labor in which he toils under the sun all the days of his life which God gives him; for it is his heritage” (Ecclesiastes 5:18).
The opportunity to work is a gift from God. “As for every man to whom God has given riches and wealth, and given him power to eat of it, to receive his heritage and rejoice in his labor—this is the gift of God. For he will not dwell unduly on the days of his life, because God keeps him busy with the joy of his heart” (vv. 19–20).
Yes, we must work. We must provide for our families and help support the Work of the Church. That is a requirement of God, but it has to be in the right priority and in proper balance.
This life is our opportunity to make good. As firstfruits, this is our day of salvation. And that day is running out! So, always remember to put God first, and family next, then exercise due diligence on the job, and God will make up the difference. He promises, “…seek the Kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you” (Luke 12:31).
Priority #4: Serve the Spiritual Family
Service to our spiritual brothers and sisters in Christ is our fourth priority. It is important that we pay attention to our relationship to the various members of the spiritual body of Christ—the Church of God.
“Therefore, in all things He [Jesus Christ] had to be made like His brethren…” (Hebrews 2:17). We are Christ’s brothers and sisters because we were all begotten by the same Spirit from the same Father. If the Holy Spirit dwells within you, you are a spiritual brother or sister of Jesus Christ, King of the Universe!
Someone told Christ, “‘Look, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, seeking to speak with You.’ But He answered and said to the one who told Him, ‘Who is My mother and who are My brothers?’ And He stretched out his hand toward His disciples and said, ‘Here are My mother and My brothers!’” (Matthew 12:47–49).
As a Christian, your mothers and fathers and your brothers and sisters are all those who believe and obey the truth and have received the same Spirit from God. They are our spiritual family, and the tie is much closer than blood ties. “For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother” (v. 50).
As we become more and more attuned to God’s will and follow His commandments, we bond together with others who are doing the same, even if we do not know them, because that bond is through the Holy Spirit.
We love one another, we grow together, we support one another and we aid one another within the body of Christ. God’s Church cannot function without the willing support, labor and love of its members.
Serving on the Sabbath
“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching” (Hebrews 10:23–25).
Although the Sabbath gathering is a commanded assembly, a number of brethren do not attend Sabbath services every week. Some are burdened by a physical illness that prevents their attendance. Others may have difficulty with transportation. Many of these brethren would very eagerly attend Sabbath services regularly, if they could.
But what about those who could attend weekly, but frequently choose not to do so? Some few may be unaware of God’s admonitions about assembling together. Others may underestimate the importance of receiving the vital instruction and correction they would gain at services. Perhaps they are not attending regularly because they have an unresolved grievance against the minister or some of the brethren. By staying away, they deprive themselves of opportunities to serve their brothers and sisters in Christ by sharing their fellowship!
It is not that we are necessarily sinning if we do not attend Sabbath services every week. But if we do not attend faithfully, we should examine our attitudes. Perhaps we live hundreds of miles from the nearest congregation, or perhaps a family member needs constant care and cannot travel long distances. Do we miss services because we have no other choice—or are we looking for excuses as to why “it’s really OK” that we stay away, even when we know we could attend?
The Church of God is composed of many members, and we all have various abilities. We all have something that we can contribute in service to God and to one another on the Sabbath day, even simply by attending services! Paul stated: “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service” (Romans 12:1). Each of us, in coming before God on the Sabbath, is presenting to Him a body, a mind and a heart. If we willfully stay away from our brethren, we are not only disobeying God and depriving ourselves—we are acting selfishly toward those brethren who would benefit from our presence.
So, examine yourself and ask: “Am I doing all I responsibly can to take part in Church services and activities?” God wants to see in us a track record of obedience to Him and love for the brethren—a firm, solid record built on the principles of Jesus Christ and His mind in us—before He will entrust us with the very powers of the universe! It is not too late to start.
Keeping the Right Order
We have seen that the four imperatives, the four priorities, in order, are: 1) God, 2) family, 3) work and 4) Church. If we keep these priorities in balance—not neglecting any of them, and not putting them in the wrong order—we can look forward to the time when we will find ourselves standing before Jesus Christ as Spirit beings, glistening in glory, as He returns to earth to bring world peace, happiness and prosperity to all mankind!