Putting first things first Ex. 20:2-6

"You shall have no other gods before me.  You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on earth beneath or in the waters below.  You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your god, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments."  Exodus 20:2-6


So what do you think?    What does it mean to put God first?   As Christians we all know that we should put God first but how do you do it?   As parents we know what it means to put our children first.  Unfortunately, most men know what it means to put their jobs and ambitions first.  And it's easy to see that many people put their toys and pleasures first..... but how do we put God first?


You can often tell what is first in your life by looking at what you do with your time and your money.  Chances are that the things that are most important to you also take up the most of your thoughts and attention.   This only makes sense because what is first in our heart is quiet often what's first in our minds and if we aren't careful those things can become our gods.


So this brings us back to the question.   How can we put God first?   Do we just try our best to think about God more, give to God's church more, and do more things for God?  Do we put God first by reading the Bible?   Do we put God first by trying our best to live our lives in moderation being sure not to lift any of our passions to a place that they don't belong?


All those can be great things but we have to be careful because putting God first is not the same as marking off a list of to do's.   Putting God first is synonymous with loving God first.  We all know that love is all about a relationship and while having a relationship involves time and money, God isn't interested only in our sacrifice.    God's interested in our heart first.  When our heart is in it God is more than pleased with our sacrifices.   However, with that said I think God is also pleased when we get up early in the morning to pray even though our body keeps on telling us we want to go back to sleep!

Putting God first isn't simply about following a set of rules or scheduling a set amount of time each day.   God knows our heart and when we ask, God will give us the capacity to love Him first!

 Personally I find that my love for God grows the more I serve others.  In addition I believe our love grows as we learn to praise and worship God from the depths of our heart!   I’m sure I will blog about that someday soon.


I have found that we fall in love with those things that we put the most effort into.    So put what you have into your relationship with God. Pray and read your Bible and follow some good blogs and Bible study material!  And by all means hang around those people who love God!!
 
In the end God will help you to put Him first.   We learn this as we walk through the Word together.

So what do you think.  How can we learn to put God first?   Pray about it and share your comments!