Better Priorities - A Deeper Dive
Scripture: Matthew 22:34-40
message Recap
This week, we begin a new sermon series, “Better.” We’ll continue to examine the fruits of the Spirit, but now we’ll look at how they can help us better set priorities, manage our relationships, and set expectations.
We begin by considering how we set and manage priorities to reach our life goals. Setting priorities is difficult enough, but feeling the distractions of the world and the pressure to pursue material things can make it overwhelming. There is a well-known story about a professor who wants to make a point about how we make the most of our time. You can follow this link to watch a video describing his demonstration:
The point of the professor’s demonstration is to show that we have a limited supply of all things. The jar starts empty but quickly fills as we add rocks, then pebbles, and finally, sand. This represents the fact that there’s a limit to how much of a particular resource we have. No one has unlimited time, energy, or money. We have to make sure we’re using the resources to do the most important things. The rocks are the important things in life. Those are what have to be done no matter what. Then we have the pebbles that are still important to us but not necessarily critical. Finally, the sand is everything else that fills in the remaining space. In the end, if you’ve done everything right, you should have no rocks remaining. You might have a few pebbles left, and there might even be quite a bit of sand left over. Those things that don’t make it into the jar may represent things still important to us, but they are left out because you’ve prioritized the most important things.
We must focus on the most essential things in life - the big rocks. We must decide what they are and give them the time, energy, and resources they deserve. Many places in the Bible speak to the need for us to prioritize our lives. God knows that if we don’t focus on the critical things, we’ll spend all our resources on the lesser things. Without focusing on the big rocks, we’ll spend our day with the pebbles and the sand.
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus teaches that we all tend to worry about aspects of our lives. We might worry about paying the bills, the health and well-being of friends and family, or struggling relationships. Jesus says trusting in God can prevent us from letting our worries become the paralysis of fear:
“33 ‘But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.’”
Jesus tells us that when we seek a life that pleases God, all the things we tend to worry about - sometimes big rocks and other times the pebbles - are more likely to fall into place.
We can relate all of this to the fruits of the Spirit, which we’ve discussed at length lately. If we’re working on growing the fruits of the Spirit, would that lead to a life that pleases God? The Bible tells us that’s how we do it, so yes. If we’re worried about our marriage, or any other relationship for that matter, would it improve if we love others, even if they drive us crazy? Would it improve if we share joy with others? Would the relationship improve if we were giving grace to others and ourselves?
How about if you’re worried about finances? First, we must understand that we’re not guaranteed to win the lottery when we put God first. However, when we put God first, he’ll be with us through our troubles. Does it help or hinder us to feel more calm during financial challenges? If we love unconditionally and actively seek joy, will we feel calmer? If we truly get comfortable with the fact that we know God’s got this, we find ourselves more at peace. If we start to trust in God’s timing and that his timing is perfect, we’ll have a greater sense of calm. If we focus on showing others kindness and the love of God instead of focusing on our wants, needs, and desires, our stress goes down. The fruit of the Spirit is the key to becoming closer to God.
So, as we think about our priorities, let’s think about what is in that jar that takes our time and energy. We’ve heard it said, “Show me where you spend your money, and I’ll tell you where your priorities lie.” Even when we know what big rocks are in our jar, we sometimes need to move their priority higher on the list. This week’s scripture identifies what our highest priorities need to be. When the expert in the Law asks Jesus about the greatest commandment, he could have just as easily asked, “What should be my highest priority in life?” Jesus quotes a command from the Old Testament and tells him to love God with his heart, soul, and mind. Just love God with all you’ve got. That's first and foremost.
How we each choose to do life is as different as our appearance. It’s as different as our memories and histories. But, for each of us, it reflects how we love God. We know we don’t get to heaven based on our works, but if we truly love God and are striving to live a life that pleases God, shouldn’t it show in the way we live? Our lives should be an advertisement for becoming a follower of Jesus Christ. If someone were to follow you all day, watching everything you say and do, would they be convinced about being a Christian? Remember, it’s not about where you are now, it’s where you’re going. Are you growing? God knows we will never be perfect. At least not until that glorious day. But we need to be working. That is sanctification and that should be our goal every day.
Jesus goes on to tell the expert in the law that the second greatest command is similar to the first: love your neighbor as yourself. Does it seem to you that there are fewer people in the world loving God? There seems to be so much more hate in the world. Perhaps there’s a correlation between people moving away from God and the increased amount of hate in the world. We, as Christians, are the role model for the world. But if we’re not loving God, then it’s hard to do a good job of loving others.
If loving God and loving our neighbor are the top priorities, what about the rest? If we are followers of Christ, one way to figure out where to put our energy and resources is by asking a simple question: is this thing I’m considering eternal or temporary? Spending time and energy focused on serving others is eternal. Focusing on building a massive 401K is temporary. This isn’t to suggest that financial security is a bad thing. But if it comes at the expense of having your eternal priorities in order, you might need to make some adjustments.
Paul understood this distinction when he wrote,
“18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”
The things that we can see will one day pass away. Those things unseen will last forever. But which is easier and more fun? Which gives us the instant gratification we want? It’s the temporary stuff. Unless we have a plan, we’ll continue to focus on the pebbles and the sand, just as the world wants us to. The world will continue to parade things before us to heighten our desires and lessen our self-control. So, a plan that we can execute to help us focus first on God, live a life that is pleasing to God, and invest in eternal things is what we need.
If you want to draw closer to God and become more like Christ, put God first. If you want your life to reflect living out the charge to love God and love people, put God first. Don't let your big rock sit outside the jar as you fill it with sand and pebbles. If our priority is loving God, as it says in Matthew 6:33, everything else will find a way of working out or at least become smaller concerns. That's what having better priorities is all about.
Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff
In the late 90’s, there was a popular self-help book titled Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff… And It’s All Small Stuff. The premise was pretty simple: don’t focus on the little things that distract you from what’s important in your life. We’re all subject to life’s little annoyances, but letting go of the things that really don’t matter is the best way to reduce overall stress. Pretty good advice, really, but Jesus was saying this over 2,000 years ago.
Throughout this week’s message, we referenced a passage from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount:
“33 ‘But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.’”
What we haven’t discussed is that in the verses right before this passage, Jesus basically said don’t sweat the small stuff:
“25 ‘Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?’”
The world wants us to fixate on appearances and possessions. We are bombarded by messages telling us we’re not part of the hip crowd if we don’t have fill-in-the-blank. We’re led to believe mass consumerism will prevent us from feeling inadequate and lonely. Yet, Jesus tells us a completely different story. Life is about more than what we eat and what we wear. God will take care of everything we need if we just get out of the way.
Jesus’ last sentence in this verse should hit home with many of us. Can constant worry add a single hour to our lives? Of course not. How many people are filled with debilitating anxiety because they’ve placed their highest priorities on worldly things?
Don’t sweat the small stuff – don’t stress over the unimportant. Unchecked, the distractions of life can pile up, causing us to lose focus on the bigger picture. If you’ve put God first, you have no reason to worry. He’ll take care of the small stuff and the big stuff. Let’s prioritize what is important and avoid being motivated by fears, worries, and sometimes our own imagination.