Skip to main content

“Order communicates priority.”

A thought by Chris Hodge from his book, The Daniel Dilemma: How to Stand Firm and Love Well in a Culture of Compromise (Kindle Locations 2883). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)

Earlier Chris said, “The secret to focusing on first things is maintaining order, keeping our priorities in the right sequence. Our perspective on order determines our capacity.” 

He later says, “One of my favorite illustrations of this principle came from a business seminar I attended in Colorado many years ago. It made a huge impact on me, so I often include it whenever I teach on the way order influences the rest of our lives. I take two gallon-sized glass jars and fill one about three-quarters full with the little gravel that goes into aquariums. Then I’ll have about seven or eight big rocks at least the size of my fist or larger.

“The gravel represents all the ‘little things’ in our day—texting, shopping, waiting in line at Starbucks, watching TV, ordering from Amazon, all the stuff we do on any given day. And the bigger rocks represent our main priorities: our relationship with God, our relationships with our spouses and kids, our commitment to exercise and having healthy bodies, our dedication to our careers, to serving others, to friendships—whatever our other priorities happen to be.

“The funny thing, though, is that when you try to put your ‘priority rocks’ into the jar that’s already close to full of gravel, there’s not enough room. All your priorities can’t be squeezed into your life when it’s full of daily ‘gravel.’ But when the priority rocks are placed in the jar first, and then the gravel is poured on top, they all fit—there may even be room left over.

He then says, “Order matters! When you make sure you put your priorities first, the rest of your life will wrap around and fill in the gaps. But it won’t work the other way. You have to put priorities ahead of the little stuff.

“And what should be our greatest priority? Jesus gave us the answer: ‘But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well’ (Matt. 6:33). Most of us know the importance of ordering our lives around our principles and priorities, but we let the culture and so many other distractions squeeze them out. But our days are limited. How we spend our time matters. Let’s reorder our lives so we live on purpose every day.


And, that is a very good idea, isn’t it?
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

“There’s a big difference between building a castle and building a kingdom.”

A thought by Bob Goff from his book, Everybody, Always: Becoming Love in a World Full of Setbacks and Difficult People ( p. 41). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)   Have you ever built a sand castle or maybe a Lego castle?   Have you? Bob says, “We actually build castles all the time, out of our jobs and our families and the things we’ve purchased. Sometimes we even make them out of each other. Some of these castles are impressive too. Lots of people come to admire what we’ve built over the course of our lives and tell us what great castles we have. But Jesus told His friends we weren’t supposed to spend our lives building castles. He said He wanted us to build a kingdom, and there’s a big difference between building a castle and building a kingdom.” Bob goes on, “You see, castles have moats to keep creepy people out, but kingdoms have bridges to let everyone in. Castles have dungeons for people who ha...
Post a Comment
Read more

“God does big things with small deeds.”

A thought by Max Lucado (2011-05-02) from his book, Cure for the Common Life (p. 115). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) I don’t know how you feel about what you are doing and how it can make a difference.   You may feel that it is so small and not even worth the effort. Max says, “Begin. Just begin! What seems small to you might be huge to someone else. Just ask Bohn Fawkes. During World War II, he piloted a B-17. On one mission he sustained flak from Nazi antiaircraft guns. Even though his gas tanks were hit, the plane did not explode, and Fawkes was able to land the plane. “On the morning following the raid, Fawkes asked his crew chief for the German shell. He wanted to keep a souvenir of his incredible good fortune. The crew chief explained that not just one but eleven shells had been found in the gas tanks, none of which had exploded. “Technicians opened the missiles and found them void of explosive cha...
Post a Comment
Read more

"Lie 2: The more you worry about it, the better your odds of avoiding it."

A thought by Louie Giglio in his book,   Winning the War on Worry    (p. 5). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon to buy the book.) Here is another lie that the Enemy uses with us. And Louie says, "This is a tricky lie. Yes, we often have cause for concern and preparation. But the Enemy wants you to believe that if you worry or fret over a certain outcome long enough, you can keep something bad from happening." But this is so important to realize. He says, "The reality is worrying has never once prevented something negative from happening. Planning might. Prayer has. But worry never will." He continues, "The Enemy tells you that by worrying about a situation (or every situation) you can make your tomorrow better. Really, worry just robs you of today. Jesus implored us: 'I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body mor...
Post a Comment
Read more