1 Americans 3 - Priorities

Posted in , , By Nick Smith 2 comments

A work of fiction (see Chapter 1: Wealth and Chapter 2:Relevancy)

Chapter 3: Priorities

Also brothers and sisters, I urge you to consider your priorities carefully.  All things are permissible, but not all things are helpful or edify.  Remember that you have been crucified with Christ, and you no longer live, but Christ lives in you.  It is time to prove this through your priorities and actions!

A common refrain among your ranks is “I would do this or that, but I have no time.”  My friends, you have time for whatever you have made a priority, and you prove the things you value by what you have made a priority.  What is it that you value?  Before you answer hastily, take an honest look at what you choose to make time for.  Television, sports, internet.  None are evil, but when you make them a larger priority than Christ, they become an idol that you place on a higher pedestal than the One you claim is your Lord.

Being a true Christ-follower is not something that idly happens while you watch football or go shopping.  It is time to stop feeding yourselves the lie that no effort is required!  To take your preconceptions, dreams, feelings, and desires and mold them to be like Christ’s is hard work, but it is the work to which you are called as a Christian.  If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.  The harsh truth is that you are Christ’s friends if you do what He commands.  Show the world that you are following Christ with your actions and not just your tongue.

I have observed that you are far too easily swayed by the wind of politics.  This too can become an idol, for it demonstrates where your true faith lies.  It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man.  Do you see God as so fragile that He cannot endure a man-made law that contradicts His will?  Do you think correcting your non-believing neighbor’s actions will earn him salvation?  If so, what is the point of Christ’s sacrifice?

Gay marriage is the latest direction the wind has blown.  My brothers and sisters, this issue is not the pinnacle of Christian existence and eating chicken does nothing for the Kingdom of Christ.  God’s will is not defined by the Constitution and God is the authority on eternal marriage, not man.  Look at your own sin.  If it were legal, would it be made less sinful?  If it were illegal, would it be made more sinful?  Has God put His trust in man to define His will in this way?

This is neither an endorsement of the issue nor a stand against it.  It is a simple reminder that Christ has entrusted you with far greater priorities than the policies of a nation.  Your priorities have eternal significance.  Look to your example, Jesus Christ.  He did not concern himself with the policies of the Roman government even though many of those policies undoubtedly contradicted God’s will.  He made His priority doing God’s work on Earth.  Follow His example.

(See also Chapter 4: Love)