God Will Not Bless at The Number Two Spot!

When I was a pastor, I often was asked what a Christian’s list of priorities should look like.  I believe everyone reading here would agree that God, most definitely, should occupy the number one position but that’s a fact that is easier stated than practiced.  The reason I say that is because I know I’ve had trouble with this and therefore, it would go without saying that, others have as well.

Those things that are tangible to us tend to rank above God because, sadly, they are more real to us. You might read that and think, “Chris Allman, that’s heresy”, but I’m just trying to be real here.  My statement doesn’t mean we don’t consider the Lord to be real but that He’s not physically present for us to look at, talk to and touch from day-to-day.  Yes, He is with us in spirit and we can talk to Him in prayer and His unseen hand is there to hold but please allow yourself to shake off the over-spiritualized way of thinking so we might solve an issue here!  There’s no way anyone can ever advance if he refuses to accept the facts in regards to his situation.

The truth is, sometimes, our spouses, our kids, our jobs even our ministries rob God of the number one spot because they are things that we are physically in contact with every single day.  I’m not saying that it’s right.  I’m just saying that it’s the way it is.  If we’re not careful, our focus on the things we are physically involved with can diminish the focus we have on the One who blessed us with those things.  How can we know if we’ve fallen into this trap?  That’s simple.  Just assess what you spend most of your efforts on.  Is it the relationship with your family?  Do you spend way too much time on your career?  Has ministry become a job instead of a joy?  I can promise you this… Whatever has knocked God out of spot number one is not going to flourish.  Why?  Because God’s blessing will not be upon it.  No matter how badly God wants your marriage to be wonderful, He will not play second fiddle to it and flourish it at the same time.  Our God is a jealous God and He will have no other gods before Him (Exodus 34:14)!

The Lord laid this on my heart yesterday… Write it down!

If your relationship with the Lord is not your number one priority… Don’t expect Him to bless what is! – Chris Allman

Now, I’m going to give, what I believe, should be every Christian’s top five priorities.  After that our priorities should differ based on our own individual lives.

• God – We’ve covered this but I believe if we are steadfast in making sure He stays at the top of this list, we’ll experience His favor over the those things that fall beneath Him.

• Your spouse – This is obviously for those of us who are married.  Your wife, sir, and your husband, ma’am, should come second only to the Lord Himself.  I believe the reason there is a 32% divorce rate among born again Christians is because we have allowed this relationship to rank lower on our list of priorities.

• Your children – These are the gifts God has blessed us with and we ought to invest in them as husband and wife together. There’s no way we can raise our children as God would have us to if we don’t prioritize our marriages above our relationships with our kids. Do you see how one builds on the other?

• Your ministry – We’ve discussed this one before. We are all called to actively play our parts in the body of Christ.  You don’t have to be a vocational pastor to be considered a minister.  Each one of us are instructed to identify what our spiritual gifts are and then to exercise them therefore edifying the body.

• Your vocation – We all have careers we have to tend to and here’s where it falls on the list.  God’s word tells us that if we won’t work neither shall we eat (II Thess. 3:10)!  Everything we do, we ought to do it as unto the Lord  When you are at work, your Christian duty is to give 100% of yourself to your employer.  You may be a stay at home mother and, mom, your job is as important if not more so than the one your husband has.

I really do believe, if we adopt these as our top five priorities in life, that we can live lives of blessing!

What do you think about the list I’ve posted?  Your comments are welcome.