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“First Things First”

 

Pastor Barry Klein, Staples Church of Christ

 

When we go in for our medical appointments, sometimes the up front reasons are obvious. But at other times, we may be mistaken as to what the problem is and our medical personnels are trained to sort that all out. So, it is important that we, as the patient, are submitting ourselves to their expertise listening, observations, diagnosis and prescription.

Someone once said, “sometimes the grasp of the obvious isn’t there for some people.” I’ve been there. I’ve missed the obvious or maybe more honestly, I didn’t want to know or hear the obvious. There are times when I knew that something needed to be addressed (and could be addressed) but I had to be reminded, once again, of what the real situation is. Pause to keep those thoughts for a moment.

Continuing with our medical world, we also are aware of the world of triaging. What we mean by that is that medical personnel are trained to assess and prioritize levels of need. For instance, if I go into the ER with an infected hang nail, even though I may go through the ER doors first, if someone after me is coming in with chest pain, that person obviously will need to precede me in being treated. It is a life and death matter of “first things first.”

We need to live life this way all the time. Using another old adage, we need to “major in the majors and minor in the minors.” We may get into trouble if we switch those around, thinking that its okay to “major in the minors and minor in the majors.” We understand how the latter would be malpractice in the emergency room, but do we understand the equal error of trying to live that way in our daily lives?

Let’s look at a couple of earthy examples. There is nothing wrong with watching a wholesome television show. But if a phone call comes in from someone in need, that needs to rise to the higher priority and would be “malpractice” if I ignore the need and continue to watch TV. Or, if I would like to enjoy some ice cream in the grocery store, but have a family back home that has no milk, meat and vegetables, it would be an upside down set of priorities to buy the ice cream to the neglect of the other items.

The point of this devotion title is this. In this generous and gracious good world that God created (Genesis 1:31), of which we all constantly draw from, we need to realize that neither the created world around us, including people, is an end onto itself. It is (and always will be) the lesser of priorities in comparison to God, the Creator. God is always the FIRST personal reality. Everything about life needs to center upon God, as the Owner of all (Psalm 24:1).

On this 10th day of the new year of 2024, let’s recommit ourselves to living “first things first” which means putting God first in all things, so that the rest of life stays in it’s proper order and perspective. Far from this being selfish of God, it is the only way we can prevent ourselves from self-destructing in using lesser things (which belong to God) against Him. If the truth be known, putting God first in all things will bring “the abundant life” to us.

 

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Staples World

Mailing Address: P.O. Box 100 Staples, MN 56479 Telephone: (218) 894-1112 - Fax: (218) 894-3570 Toll Free: 1-888-894-1112 E Mail: office@staplesworld.com; editor@staplesworld.com

Deadline: Friday, noon

 

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