Priorities

One of the things I like the most about my children being adults, (besides not having to feed them and change their diapers), is just having adult conversations with them. Especially adult conversations about the things of the Spirit.

Recently my daughter, who is attending her senior year of college in Texas, emailed me and asked for my input on a paper she was writing.  Now my daughter has carried a 4.0 gpa all of her life and I, well....I didn't, so I don't know if she really wanted my advice or if she was just trying to make the old man feel good.  Whatever her motive, the old man felt good.

Her paper was on priorities in the ministry, a subject I should be a little familiar with.  She shared with me her basic thought that our priorities should line up in the following order: God. Family. Ministry.  Oh, very good, she probably learned that from her incredibly wise father, after all, that's a pretty basic assumption amongst pastors.  Christian lay people tend to think of it as: God. Family. Church.

Then I stopped to think about it for a minute.  You know, if my family always took priority over my ministry I don't think I would have ever moved to China. Come to think of it, I never would have left Quincy. Suddenly I began to realize that the lines are not as clear cut as we think. I certainly don't want to think or advocate that ministry, church or our jobs take priority over family! But then again, there is a certain reality we live with.

As I thought about that, it occurred to me that as a follower of Jesus Christ I really only have one priority in life, on things that trumps all others. One facet of my life through which every other decision must be filtered...to please God.  Wow, that should simplify things substantially.  I mean when I realize that then every time I am faced with a decision I only have one criteria to think about: What is the most pleasing to God in this circumstance?

I live to please God. Sometimes the most pleasing thing in the world that I can do is say no to the demands of "ministry", or work, or church, or whatever else is clamoring for my attention and just spend a quiet evening alone with my wife.  But there have been other times when I've had to say no to my kids because pleasing God meant that I "be there" for someone else in that circumstance.  That's not always easy, and sometimes we can take a lot of flak from others about it, but I've got to know and do what is the most pleasing thing to God in every circumstance and trust that He will always take care of the rest.

Discerning what is most pleasing may be where the challenge comes in.  a workaholic is going to tend to always think that work is the most pleasing thing to God.  The over-protective parent is always going to lean to the kids.  I guess we all just need to be transparent before God, acknowledge our own frailties and trust God to lead us into truth.

Bottom line: This morning I felt like taking a minute to record my thoughts in a long-neglected blog should take priority over Sports Center!  Tough decision the day after a Cowboys win!