Putting God First
Everyone of us have busy lives. Some of us have school, others have work; some may have both. People may be in clubs or participate in extra-curricular activities. We each also have various hobbies and leisurely activities that we enjoy. Our days are often filled up.
However, while we can have these busy lives we must make sure that we do not become distracted from our more important activities. We cannot forget about our devotion to God; for as we find in the Bible, we must put God first.
In Luke 14:15-24, we find the parable of the great supper. In this parable, a certain man was going to have a great supper and so invited many people. However, all that were invited gave various excuses as to why they could not attend. Therefore, “the poor and the maimed and the lame and the blind” along with others were brought into the master’s house; enough people to fill his house completely.
In verse 24 the master says, “For I say to you that none of those men who were invited shall taste my supper.” The house was filled so that those who were originally invited would not be able to enter and taste of the supper.
We must make sure that we are not like those who were invited in the parable; those who made excuses not to come; those who were placing other concerns before that of the master.
As Christians we must put God first. We cannot put aside or lessen our devotion to God because we have a school assignment, work project, soccer practice, favourite show airing on tv, or any other such thing. We cannot “leave our beliefs and obedience behind” in order to participate in various activities, hoping to come back to it later. We can’t “put on our religion when entering the church building and take it off when leaving”. We shouldn’t make excuses and not stay on that path to our Master’s house.
In Matt. 6:33 Jesus says, “But seek first the kingdom of God”. It doesn’t get any clearer than that.
We need to always be acting in a proper way with a Christian attitude. We need to communicate with God through prayer, as well as study His word. Our devotion needs to be strong and we must always be committed to God. We must remember to put God first.
-- John Thrower Jr.