Every day, every minute, every second, we make choices, and because we live in a time where there are so many choices, it can be hard at times to decide what’s important and how to best use our time and resources. We all face this challenge, at home, in school, at work, wherever and whoever we are. That’s why setting priorities is so important.
I want to be clear up front, I am not an expert on this topic, in fact, I am a fellow struggler just like many of you. So, the words that I’m sharing are for me too. When it relates to time, here are three areas that I believe every follower of Christ should prioritize.
- God first. I hope you knew this, as a follower of Jesus Christ there should be no greater priority. God is our everything. (Romans 11:36) As the psalmist reminds us, “You are my Lord; I have nothing good besides you.” (Psalm 16:2 CSB) Placing God first means that we place prayer and His Word, the Bible, first in our lives, and set aside time every day to hear from Him.
- Prioritize the order of other relationships. Leaders have differing opinions on this one, but one thing they all agree on is that not everyone should get equal attention. I believe that next to our relationship with God should be the priority of yourself. The reason I place self ahead of others is because if you don’t take care for yourself, there may come a time when you’ll not have what you need to be able to take care of someone else. That means making exercise a priority (ouch), prioritizing your money, and having what I like to call some “me time” as well. If you’re married; your spouse should be next, and then other members of your immediate family.
- The priority of rest. This goes right along with the previous one, and rest is just as important as exercise. No one can do this for you, so it’s important that you schedule down time and learn how to say “no” to the things that you can. In the long run you’ll have more time and energy to do the things that matter most.
This list could be a lot longer, and I know that I barely touched the surface on the topic of prioritizing. I hope this has caused you to think about your own priorities, and if they in the right order? Are you scheduling time for God, self, and family? If this is an area where you’d like help, I’d be glad to talk with you and point you to some resources that I’ve found helpful. You can contact me at dludwig@brnonline.org
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