Priorities

See what the Bible says about Our Priorities

Where does the time go?! Time just flies by and it flies by even faster when it is unaccounted for. I was trying to figure why I have not been diligent in fulfilling my commitments, and the first thing that came to mind was “I don’t have time.” I reasoned that if I could just quit my job, that would free up 8-10 glorious hours a day, 12 hours if you count traffic. Then I started recounting the past week and I was little appalled when I discovered how much time I had wasted. When I could have been productive, I was watching movies for 4 hours, surfing the internet, etc.

The truth is that I have the same 24 hours a day as everyone else. Someone once said that we can SPEND time or we INVEST time. Thinking along those lines, I found that I was spending a lot of time on non-priorities such as online shopping and social media. And if I had planned better I could have skipped two trips to the store and bypassed an accumulated 3 hours of finding something to wear. My intent is not to fill every hour of every day and not rest or have fun, however I do want to be diligent in honoring my commitments and working toward my goals.

Steven Covey, the author of 7 Habits of Highly Successful People, states that “the key is not to prioritize what’s on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities.” I came across this quote and it dawned on me that I have been scheduling everything and in doing so, not making appropriate time for the things that I say are a priority. I felt liberated for a second there… until I realized that I couldn’t just clear my to-do list. Now I get to ask myself some important questions- what are my priorities? Am I overcommitted? How can I manage my time more effectively? I overanalyze so there’s about 30 more questions I’m asking myself but I won’t bore you with those. The point is, is that I am on the journey to learning how to schedule my priorities.

What cracks me up is that God has no problem reminding me of the same truth over and over again. At church last week the speaker taught John 15:5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” God reminded me that I cannot leave Him out of my prioritizing and planning. More importantly I am to remain connected to Him. When I remain connected to God I am connected to His wisdom, grace, discernment, love, and strength. And so here I am again, asking God to forgive me for not seeking Him first and asking Him to help me make loving Him my priority.

Written By Remaliah Evans