The One Priority That Orders Everything Else
Christ comes first in the whole of life. Let His teaching guide how you love your family, do your work, use your money, and make hard choices.
#47 — The Priorities Fallacy
Jul 1, 2019
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The difficulty with competing first places
We often make a list of the things that matter most. A familiar list might begin with God, family, church, work, and personal health. The list appears useful until two responsibilities come into conflict. A work obligation overlaps with family time. A desire to provide financially begins consuming opportunities to serve. A family member's expectations pull us toward conduct we believe Scripture forbids. Which priority governs the decision?
But a list can't help much if every item becomes its own master. If each category is treated as the ultimate concern whenever it demands our attention, the result will be endless negotiation. We need more than a ranking of competing interests. We need a governing allegiance that tells us how to handle each interest faithfully.
Following Jesus won't make every choice simple. Family responsibilities and professional commitments may both be legitimate, and wisdom may be required to determine what to do. But a Christian doesn't need to decide repeatedly whether serving Christ is more important than obedience to convenience, wealth, or approval. That question has already been settled by the Lord's claim upon our lives.
Jesus does not accept a divided allegiance
Jesus says in Matthew 6:24 that we can't serve two masters. He specifically contrasts serving God with serving money. The concern isn't whether a Christian may earn or manage resources. Money is useful for meeting obligations and helping others. The danger arises when wealth begins commanding the allegiance that belongs to God.
We can call God first while letting the pursuit of money make our decisions. The schedule becomes arranged around acquisition, relationships are evaluated by usefulness, and generosity is delayed indefinitely. The label of first priority means little if some other concern consistently exercises control.
Jesus then speaks about worry over food, drink, and clothing. These are real needs, not frivolous desires. He calls His hearers to trust the Father and seek the kingdom first. The instruction doesn't remove their responsibility to work or provide; it changes the governing purpose behind their actions.
Ask who has authority over the whole day. Work, family, money, and rest may each need a different amount of time this week, but none belongs outside Christ's teaching. His authority helps us judge how to meet those responsibilities, especially when keeping them faithful requires a difficult choice.
Seeking first gives every good gift its proper place
In Matthew 6:33, Jesus tells us to seek God's kingdom and righteousness first. Some misunderstand this as a requirement to abandon every ordinary interest. But Jesus isn't teaching indifference to family, work, or material needs. He is teaching trust and right allegiance. When the kingdom comes first, other responsibilities can be approached as opportunities for faithful service.
Good gifts still need their proper place beneath the Lord. Employment is necessary for many responsibilities, but it can't authorize dishonesty. Personal health deserves wise attention, but physical appearance shouldn't become the source of identity and worth. Recreation can refresh us, but it shouldn't continually consume the time owed to important obligations.
Following Jesus reaches into ordinary responsibilities. Sometimes faithfulness will mean spending time at work because provision is a real duty. Sometimes it will mean leaving work behind to care for someone who depends upon us. With the kingdom first, we can ask what faithfulness requires of us here. It doesn't eliminate discernment. It makes discernment accountable to a settled allegiance.
Christ must have first place in everything
Colossians 1:18 says that Christ is to have first place in everything. Paul grounds that supremacy in who Jesus is and what God has accomplished through Him. The passage doesn't present Christ as another item to be managed alongside other personal goals. He is the One whose authority gives every part of life its proper meaning.
Colossians 3 brings that truth into everyday conduct. Believers are told to seek things above, put sinful practices to death, and clothe themselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, and love. Those qualities apply in the very settings where competing priorities create difficulty.
If Christ is first, His teaching has something to say about our tone at home. Someone who prays faithfully while refusing honesty in business can't separate employment from discipleship. The authority of Jesus extends to the way we speak, forgive, work, and care for people.
Giving Him an hour doesn't place the other hours beyond His authority. Scripture is meant to shape what happens during the other hours as well. Christ isn't given a time slot and then dismissed from the rest of life.
Family is loved best under the Lord's instruction
Our families deserve real love, time, and care. We should honor marriage, care for children, and show appropriate concern for relatives. Yet love becomes distorted when we place another person's preferences above what the Lord has taught. A family member may expect us to approve something wrong or neglect another legitimate responsibility.
Colossians 3:18–21 brings household relationships under the Lord's instruction. Paul connects household conduct to the Lord and instructs family members in ways that require responsibility, love, and restraint. The passage reminds us that biblical faithfulness doesn't compete with genuine love for family. It defines the character that love should have.
Wanting your child to grow in faith should change the example you set. If a spouse wants a stronger marriage, allegiance to Christ should produce honesty, humility, and attentive care. Family responsibilities aren't diminished when brought under Jesus. They are given a better foundation.
There may still be conflict and painful choices. Following Christ doesn't mean that every relationship will become harmonious immediately. It means we approach each difficulty according to truth and love rather than permitting pressure to redefine what is right.
Work and daily duties are not outside discipleship
Our service to Christ doesn't end when we leave an assembly or close our Bibles. Worship, study, and prayer matter deeply, but Christian conduct also appears in how we fulfill ordinary obligations. Our speech toward coworkers, use of time, treatment of customers, and honesty in financial decisions can reveal whether we are allowing Christ to govern our lives.
Colossians 3:22–24 speaks to servants in an ancient household setting. We shouldn't equate the ancient social arrangement with modern employment or use the passage to excuse exploitation. The broader call to sincerity and accountability before Christ remains relevant to work we choose and responsibilities we undertake.
Honoring Jesus at work includes telling the truth when a shortcut would pay. A leader should treat people fairly and refuse to use authority for personal advantage. A person with demanding employment should consider how to meet those duties without habitually neglecting family or spiritual obligations.
Let God's kingdom shape how you carry out your work. Tell the truth, keep your promises, treat people fairly, and be willing to acknowledge an error. Ordinary labor doesn't need to look religious to become part of your faithful service. It needs to be done in a way that honors the Lord.
One settled allegiance can simplify hard decisions
Even with Christ first, we may face hard choices between real needs. We may face competing needs, limited resources, and responsibilities that can't all receive the attention we wish. We shouldn't promise that faith automatically produces an obvious schedule or removes the need for counsel.
But some questions have already been answered by His teaching. We need not determine whether a convenient lie is acceptable because it would advance a financial goal. We need not decide whether personal pride deserves protection at the expense of repentance. Scripture has already given direction on those matters.
When two genuine duties compete, ask for wisdom and look carefully at the facts. Consider who depends upon you, what promises you have made, and whether a practical alternative exists. Don't hide a personal preference behind a claim that God has directed an outcome He hasn't revealed.
Knowing whom we serve gives us something firm to stand on in a complicated decision. The Christian can make difficult decisions without surrendering the principles by which those decisions ought to be made.
Let Jesus order the whole of life
Where have your choices drifted away from what you say comes first? Perhaps work is absorbing nearly all available attention, a relationship is shaping your convictions away from Scripture, or personal comfort has become the deciding factor whenever a responsibility feels difficult.
Bring that part of life under Christ's teaching. It may call for a changed schedule, an honest conversation, an act of repentance, or more faithful stewardship. Don't begin by creating an elaborate hierarchy of every possible activity. Begin by affirming the Lord's authority and applying His teaching to the decision before you.
Receive your family, work, health, and enjoyment as responsibilities and gifts to handle before God. None of these responsibilities must become a competing master. Each can be received and handled under the Lordship of Jesus.
First place will belong to someone or something. For the Christian, that place belongs to Christ. Let every other priority find its meaning beneath Him, and allow that settled allegiance to guide the choices of ordinary life.
Take the idea with you.
- 01Which concern most often competes with my allegiance to Christ?
- 02How should Scripture change the way I handle a family or work responsibility?
- 03What specific choice this week would demonstrate that Jesus has first place?
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