LIVING WATERS
For the proclamation of the Gospel and the edification of the Body of Christ
The Priorities of a Believer
"See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is" (Ephesians 5:15-17).
Our desire as believers is to please our Father's heart, doing His will at all times. However, in the evil days in which we live, we often get caught up in the mad race of the world, a situation that in one way or another minimizes the effectiveness of our service to the Lord, weakening it or making it unfruitful. As a result, when we are conscious of not having filled God's measure, we feel frustrated.
This weakness, most of the time, is a consequence of not having attended to the perfect will of God, with respect to the place we give in our heart to heavenly things and earthly things. The apostle Paul, in the last chapters of his epistle to the Ephesians, clearly points out the will of God in relation to the priorities in the life of the believer: God comes first; then the family and the relationship between spouses and between parents and children; then work and the relationship between servants and employers.
It is worth asking ourselves: How am I using my time? Am I giving priority to heavenly things? Or is my family my main dedication? Or is it my work that occupies the preferential place? If God's order is disturbed, we will suffer loss.
"Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might" (Deut. 6:5). The commandment for every believer is to seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. This implies our service to the Lord and to the brethren. If we diligently go about our Father's business, he will go about ours.
Another important part of our time is that which we dedicate to the family. The family institution in today's world is increasingly discredited, and this situation is the origin of the lack of communication, the loss of parental authority, the disobedience of children, and all the other evils that are morally eating away at society. The believer cannot commit the folly of neglecting his family, not even under the pretext of serving God.
Finally, there is work. The consumer society pushes us in an insatiable search for satisfaction and material goods. In our country, the term "workaholic" has been coined to refer to a person who is overly addicted to work. The Christian should not fall into this trap. Behind it all, there is Satan's strategy, who, in the case of believers, overwhelms them with tasks and neutralizes them in their service to the Lord. Therefore, "having food and shelter, let us be content with these things" (1 Tim. 6:8).
God has the preeminence. And everything else has its place of precedence in the life of the believer. There is a balance in our time dedicated to the Lord, to the family or to secular work, that only the Lord -in his grace- can grant us. May He help us to walk wisely, redeeming our time and doing His will.