Priority Numero Uno

Riches won’t help on the day of judgment, but right living can save you from death. (Proverbs 11:4 NLT)

It is so easy to get the wrong focus in life. We can spend more time worrying over money, making money, saving money, then miss the moments in life that actually matter the most. We neglect our quiet time with Jesus. We forego the liesurely lunch with a friend. We don't make the ballgames of our children. All the while, we are caught in this endless cycle of getting more, making more. The end of that cycle isn't good, though. We might have hefty bank account but our emotional and relational accounts are drained below zero! Jesus focused on others first - relationships mattered to him and they should matter to us.

Riches aren't bad, though. I am not proposing we all live in poverty. We just need to keep our priorities straight. We need to focus on the things that really last - relationships. The first relationship that we need to focus on is the one we maintain with Jesus. When we get that one right, all the other relationships we have at home, in our community, or at work will be much better. Why? We get our focus off of us and onto others by placing it on Jesus first. Right living begins with a right relationship with Jesus. Right choices begin with understanding his will for our lives and we will never begin to understand that if we neglect our time with him.

Like it or not, death is the outcome of setting wrong priorities in life. It may not be physical death, but the death of relationships. They matter so much - there is no replacement for a great friendship, the type that helps to hold you accountable to the things that God wants for your life. In turn, you become the type of friend that helps them be accountable for the things God has designed for their lives. It isn't that we tell each other what to do, but we just make each other better because we both keep Jesus first in our lives and we help each other live out that relationship on a daily basis. Like it or not, we need one another and neglecting these relationships will certainly lead to a less fulfilled life.

Riches take many forms, but anything that takes your attention away from Jesus and others is not something we want to be pursuing. The tendency to get carried away into things and places we shouldn't be pursuing is easiest when we move away from the relationships Jesus has designed for our safety and protection. When we neglect the one we have with him, we make our priorities very self focused. When we pay attention to this relationship with him, ensuring it remains consistent and actively growing, we find we focus much less on self and redirect our focus to others as a natural result of having this vital and growing relationship with him. So, before you go off to do whatever it is you are doing today, take a 'temperature check' on your relationships. Are they alive and growing, or have you drifted off somewhere? It isn't too late to begin the process of 'righting' those relationships. First with Jesus, then with those you have been neglecting or prioritizing way down the line. Just saying!