My morning routine typically goes as follows: the alarm rings at 5:00 a.m., I brush my teeth and head to the kitchen to take my vitamins, sometimes with food. I let the dog out while my green and lemon tea with ginger is brewing. I let the dog back in and head to my home office for prayer and devotions. I then kiss and say good morning to my wife and make coffee. Then I work out, shower, kiss my wife again, feed my dog, and head to work.
These are my typical morning priorities. It’s what I get done first. Of course, I have way more important things in my life than what I’ve listed here. But if you look at the routines of your life, you will see a list of your priorities.
What are your priorities? More importantly, what are the spiritual priorities in your life?
It’s easy to get so busy that our natural life gets more attention than our spiritual life. We need spiritual priorities. Here are a few spiritual priorities that will help you keep focused on what’s most important.
Prioritize the person you’re pleasing.
Jesus said, “I seek not to please myself but him who sent me.” (John 5:30) In other words, Jesus lived for an audience of one. His whole desire in life was to please God. Is yours?
The Apostle Paul echoed this same priority when he said, “I’m not trying to win the approval of people, but of God. If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christ’s servant.” (Galatians 1:10) He too lived for an audience of one.
If we prioritize anyone in our lives, it needs to be Jesus. You must “offer yourselves as a living sacrifice to God, dedicated to his service and pleasing to him.” (Romans 12:1) He is the audience we live for.
Prioritize your perception.
I don’t know about you, but the thoughts that come first in my mind can often be negative and full of worry and stress. And like a runaway train, sometimes it doesn’t stop. My perception is frequently focused on me.
If we’re going to overcome the stresses in life, we need to think for an audience of one. Isaiah 26:3 says, “You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!”
Are your thoughts fixed on Jesus? Take some time today just to prioritize your thoughts him.
Prioritize your precious pennies.
Typically, our money has two jobs: to buy the things we need and to buy the things we want. In other words, our money typically has one priority: us.
It’s why James said, “When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.” (James 4:3) The problem with money is we want it for our pleasures.
What if you managed your money for an audience of one – Jesus? When you do that, you’re saying, Jesus, I love you more than my money.
The writer of Hebrews gets right to this point about money when he says, “Don’t love money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said, “I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.” (Heb 13:5)
Simply put, Jesus should be more important in our lives than financial wealth. The way to overcome selfish priorities with your money is to be generous. Become a giver.
As Jesus said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” (Acts 20:35)
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