Priorities

I hate driving. If I’m going somewhere with a group of people I will almost always choose to ride with someone else rather than taking my own vehicle. I don’t hate driving when there’s no one else on the road, but in the DFW area that almost never happens. So I tend to speed from location to location, desiring to spend as little time trapped in traffic as possible. But recently there was something wrong with my car, a problem that could’ve caused irreparable damage to the engine if left unaddressed. That’s when my priorities changed. I could drive my car a little while the mechanic was waiting to receive the parts, I just had to be careful and look for certain signs.

During that week or so, I was no longer worried about getting to my destination quickly. I was concerned about my engine not overheating, so I drove slowly as the impatient people (the group I’m normally part of) flew by me. For those few days, going to a coffee shop and writing just didn’t seem worth it: my table was good enough. While I did have to go grocery shopping, I did it when I was already out and went to a store that was on the way home instead of going to my favorite grocery chain. I rearranged my schedule and carpooled with others when I could because my car’s longevity was more important than my convenience.

How do you prioritize your life?

How do you keep the main thing the main thing daily? What’s your ranking system that determines what’s more important than the other things going on in your life? For me, on a good day, it goes God, friends, me, then work (which happens not nearly as often as it should). Most days it’s God & work fighting for the top slot, leading me to forget about everyone else, including myself. On a bad day, I take the main spot and no one else even comes close.

What, according to your actions, is the most important thing in your life? We like to judge ourselves by our intentions, but I feel like those aren’t always the best indicators. Intentions are great, but action helps us paint a more complete picture. Do you just want to honor God every day (which is huge and an amazing change of heart) or do you make conscious choices that honor him? Do you desire to be generous or do you do it? Do you merely long to be excellent in your work or do you go the extra mile even though you might still be overlooked? Do you think about how great it would be to spend quality time with family or do you actually do it?

These are hard questions for me to answer and I don’t like asking them because I know that I have to examine myself too. But I believe that God is honored when we take the extra time to examine our hearts and our motives. Let’s make sure that we keep the main thing the main thing. Why not start now? No matter how you started today, let’s finish well by intentionally choosing to place God in the #1 spot as we continue about our day.

To go Deeper: Read Seeing Through the Fog, Baby Step Method