Monday, January 7, 2019

Getting the Buttons in the Right Order


As you start the New Year, it would be wise to evaluate your priorities, which are the things that are most important to you. We all have things that are more important to us than other things. Here are four ways to identify your priorities.
1. What you have a passion for.
2. How much time you spend with it.
3. How much money you spend on it.
4. What you choose it over. 

The buttons on a shirt represent priorities. If you get the top button of a shirt buttoned wrong, all of the other buttons will be out of order. If I take the bottom button of the shirt and put it in the top hole, the shirt will get messed up. Let’s just say the bottom button is golf. There’s nothing wrong with golf but it’s a bottom button in life. To get the buttons in the right order, it starts with God being the top priority.

Button #1: God. Jesus said the top button is to love God with all your heart, soul, and mind (Matt. 22:37). Seek first God’s kingdom and His righteousness (Matt. 6:33). Read some of God’s Word every day and talk to Him throughout the day.

Button #2: Your spouse. If you’re married, that means your spouse is your number two priority. You made a vow to God at your wedding to honor your spouse and forsake all others.

Button #3: Your children. Love them and teach them about God. Take care of their spiritual needs before you enroll them in sports or dance classes. Many kids grow up with the wrong values because their parents instilled the wrong priorities in them.

Button #4: Your job. You can serve God at your job by doing excellent work. “Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve” (Col. 3:23-24).

Button #5: Your ministry. I know a pastor who put his ministry as his highest priority—until he almost lost his family. He said, “I gave my life away to strangers and neglected my own household.” You can have an effective ministry and still have a healthy family life.  

Button #6: Your hobbies. God wants you to rest. Recreation is like therapy, so it’s good to have a hobby that you enjoy doing. But it’s a bottom button. Don’t put it in the top hole. www.makinglifecount.net
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Making Life Count Ministries
P.O. Box 680174
Prattville, Alabama 36068-0174
www.makinglifecount.net  Twitter: @KentCrockett