Priorities

1 Samuel 16:7b
The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.


Now that my little guy is 7 weeks old, I have begun the process of getting back into shape. Tedious, time consuming, and tiring, I am beginning to question my motives - or perhaps I should say that God is refocusing me, in this and so many other areas of my life, and this verse says it all.

Not that we shouldn’t strive to be healthy, by eating right and exercising. Afterall, if we are to be the temples of God, we should take care of ourselves. If we do not take care of our bodies - the most important tools God has given to us, we will be in no condition to serve God, will we? But, I think God is helping me to see beyond my normal, habitual way of doing things, to my actual motivations and priorities.

The question God continues to ask me is this: Am I more concerned with impressing people, or God? This is a question that permeates my entire lifestyle. It seems that it is so much easier to find time to work out and count calories, than it is to spend time with God - why is that? It is so much more fun to spend our money on the things people tell us are important to look good and be successful, than to give some money to help those less fortunate. If we have an extra hour in the day, why is that most of us will spend it working out, or doing any number of other things that make us look better to those around us, rather than spend some good, quality time with God? So many times we can’t even find an extra 15 minutes to sit down with our Bibles, and meet with God one-on-one at all. Or if we have an extra dollar in our pockets, we would rather spend it on clothes, or Starbucks than put it in the offering plate. It comes down to priorities. A dear friend of mine puts it this way: you can tell a person’s priorities by looking at their checkbook and their calendar. Ouch.

We need to spend more time looking at the things that God looks at, both within ourselves and in those around us. We need to spend our time and our money on those things that God tells us are important, not people. We need to place priority on those things that will increase our beauty in the eyes of our Creator, rather than the eyes of those around us who can see only the outward appearance. These are difficult lessons - ones that we are all learning, all the time. I know it is a constant struggle in my life. But that makes it no less important.

Friends, we need to put God at the top of our priority list in every way, and watch how placing Him there affects everything else in our lives - turning us into something more beautiful than we could ever imagine.