I'm Third!

I often wonder how many minutes...actually, hours of the day I spend thinking about myself. Better yet I would rather not know, because I think the number would scare me. In fact, I do not need to know to realize it's way too high and something needs to be done about it. My mind is often consumed with me. I don't want to stereotype/speak for everyone, but I'm sure it's the same for you. We live in a materialistic culture that bombards us with ads reminding us that what we have is not good enough, and nor will it ever be good enough till we buy the next new thing which in a matter of no time will not be good enough and once again this vicious cycle continues. We're told that we don't have enough, what we have is not good enough, and we're not pretty/handsome enough. In addition to this, we will do anything to adapt and change our schedule, even if it involves giving something up (like sleep) to make a situation better for ourselves. However, when it comes time for us to give the same thing up to help someone else, even someone close to us, we grumble and complain, making sure they hear about it.

Our priorities are in need of a major realignment! 1 Chronicles 16:11 (Many of you probably didn't know there was a book in the Bible called Chronicles, let alone 2 of them!) tells us to "Seek the Lord and his strength, seek his presence continually". This same exact statement is repeated in the book of Psalms chapter 105 verse 4. We're called to seek his face and his strength continually, that means (according to my handy dictionary widget...oh I love Mac OS X) "always happening; having no interruptions". How many of us can say this is true about our walk? I know I certainly can't, though I wish it was true!

Summer's Best Two Weeks, a Christian sports camp in good 'ole Western PA, has one of the best slogans I have ever heard. It goes like this: "God First, Others Second, I'm Third". How many of us would group our priorities in that order? [Very few, if any hands raise] I would be willing to bet that most of us rank our priorities in the exact opposite order. [Heads nod, hands raise, and shouts of "Amen" can be heard] I think the Bible has something to support the importance of this slogan. Matthew 6:33 states, "But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well". This verse appears in the Sermon on the Mount and is contained in the section in which Jesus calls us "not to store up money and riches on earth (6:19-24), not to worry about the future (6:25-34), to refrain from self-righteousness judgment (7:1-5), and to go to God for all our needs (7:7-11)" (Nick Page, The Map, pg. 254). All of these require us to change our priorities, to focus less on ourselves, and more on God.

When we focus on God continually, making sure to put Him first, the rest will just fall into place. We will naturally want to serve others and focus less on ourselves. When we immerse ourselves in His presence, we'll realize how frivolous our attempts are to constantly satisfy our needs, and therefore strongly desire to serve Him and our neighbor. I'll be the first to tell you this isn't easy and I don't always accomplish it, but I try, and you should to.

Join me by shouting: "I'M THIRD!!!!!!"

~August 15, 2006
Prayer Breakfast