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“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?
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