It doesn't take a long look at our self centered culture to realize that many people these days have their priorities mixed up. In all honesty this has been an epidemic consistently throughout the course of human history and it all goes back to one moment in time where the human desire decided to attempt to supplant God's decree for personal gain, the fall! Just like Eve in the Garden, Cain in the field, Abraham with Hagar, Saul with David, David with Bathsheba, Judas with a kiss, and every human in between we are so broken and so skewed that without restraint and guidance from God and His Revelation we are doomed and helpless in our finite attempts to restructure our priorities.
My struggle isn't really with how the world structures it's priorities because sinful, depraved, dead in their trespasses, enemies of God will not and CANNOT have the correct perspective. My burden stems from witnessing a modern day Laodicean church full of lukewarm "christians" who's first priority mirrors that of the world, SELF! The epistle of James shines light upon the schisms and quarrels in the church and how at the core lies the intent of a sinful heart, selfish desires, which, when left unchecked, become the root of all bitterness, envy, and strife!
All of this, just as every sin, leads back to the ultimate sin of idolatry. When we are carried away in our lusts we are shouting at God that His way and His priorities and His prescriptive will are wrong and that ours are right and thus we assume the throne of our own hearts to become our own god!
Even good intentions coupled with good motives may be idolatrous and lead to our demise. For example, our culture is riddled with broken marriages that are a result of misplaced priorities. In the marriage covenant relationship many place children above the spouse, self interests above the covenant, and only honor the covenant when they're happy or feel that the other party is working as hard as they are in the marriage. All of these are skewed! The priority in the marriage covenant relationship is what binds it, GOD! In order scripturally the marriage covenant relationship priority list looks like this, God, Spouse, everything else. This too plays out in our relationship(marriage) with Christ. Just as many put the product of the marriage(kids) above the covenant itself, we tend to put the product of our relationship with Christ ahead of the relationship itself. For example, sometimes ministry, servitude, theology, the church, and so on become the priority when the relationship covenant between Christ and His Bride are the ultimate priority. We worship and serve the created instead of the Creator!
So where do we go from here?
It's time to stop allowing God to have competition in your life for He has not one equal, He has no competitor, He has no step children with weekend visits! We wouldn't miss work if our arm was chewed off by a shark yet a headache keeps us from assembling (Church) with our brothers and sisters in Christ for edification. We allow secular activities, especially with our kids, to take president over spiritual growth and well being. We can watch ten hours of T.V., scroll through FB for hours, go to the lake, eat til we're about to explode yet have no time for commitment, benevolence, compassion, giving, witnessing, devotion, prayers, meditations, Bible reading, volunteering, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, comforting the destitute, or making disciples.
I mean, think about it, what drives the very choice of where we go to church? I'll go ahead and tell you that it rarely has anything to do with the biblical accuracy of the preaching but instead it usually depends of what the church can offer, what youth programs they have, what the music is like, how long is the service, what people wear, how loud is the preacher, what translation of the Bible they use, how much does the Preacher move around, and on and on and on.
Let me help you with what I feel is scriptural when it comes to a Christian's priorities. If you put yourself above anything and God below anything you're out of place yet if God is everything and you are nothing then and only then will everything else fall into place. Do you want to have purpose? Meaning? Power? It's all about priorities!
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