The Inconvenient Importance of Putting God First
1:00 AM
Yes, you read that right. Putting God first can sometimes, if not most of the time, be an absolute inconvenience. We, as a culture, are narcissistic people. We have followers on social media feeding into the idea that our life is all about us. We check our Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snap Chat, or whatever else to see how many shares, likes, views, and comments that we have received on the latest update of our life. While it is obviously not a sin to own and check social media, it is a sin to become so obsessed with it that we actually put it, and consequently, ourselves above the Lord. This thought that our life is actually about us could not be more false. God did not send his Son to earth to die for our sin so that we can worship ourselves. The very inconvenience of putting God first makes it a necessity that we intentionally do everything we can to put God first in every area of our life.
Even though it is difficult, putting Christ first is important in order to be the Christian that Christ wants us to be. - one of my 10th grade boys
Making Christ preeminent is not meant to be convenient. If it were easy, everyone would would put God on the throne in their life and live happily ever after. However, it is not easy; the Lord requires first place in our life, and with that comes trust, faith, and placing our own wants and comforts in at least a secondary position. In Matthew 4, Jesus walked up to two fishermen: Peter and Andrew. As they were casting their nets, Jesus made them an offer:
And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. - Matthew 4:19
The Bible then goes on to tell us that they left their nets to follow Jesus. They left their livelihood. They left everything that they knew and worked for to follow Him. In order for them to place God above all else, Jesus required them to leave everything that they loved to leap outside of their comfort zone. In contrast to Peter and Andrew casting their nets aside and following Jesus, I am reminded of the story in Matthew 19 when a man came to Jesus and asked what he could do to be saved. Jesus, knowing the manner of the man, started to go through the ten commandments. The man, probably perking up at this point, informed Jesus that he has not broken one of these commandments his entire life. Jesus then told him:
We then go on to read that the man walked away and was very sad because he was rich. It obviously was inconvenient for him to put Christ first, but unlike Peter and Andrew, he refused to go through the inconveniences for Christ. Christ was testing Him to see if He meant more to the man than his possessions. The man was not willing to do what he had to do to put Christ first in his life. We do not even know this man's name; we only know that he valued possessions over the Savior. If he was willing to go through the initial inconveniences for the Lord, then he could have still been remembered today for all of the great things that he accomplished for the Lord. The Lord will sometimes test us to see if we are willing to drop everything that we love to follow Him. With this being said, the Lord will not require that we leave where we are just to abandon us. The Lord leaves us with a distinct promise to never leave us in Matthew:
Sometimes, the Lord will require something similar of us. The Lord requires us to put Him first in every single area of our life. The following areas of time, relationships, and finances are just a few examples of the many areas that we should put God first:
Time
One of my 10th grade girls wrote the following:
Putting Christ first is very inconvenient sometimes. Certain events will fall on a Sunday and it is always hard to choose the right thing. Christ put us first when he died for us, so we should be able to do the same. We will reap the consequences, good or bad, for every decision we make. Putting God first is important if we are Christians; it is important that we show respect to God! Jesus went through many inconveniences for us, so it is the least we could do for Him.
The first thing that I want to do when I open my eyes in the morning is to scroll through my Instagram feed. What can I say? I am addicted. I love my cat videos. However, this action is not innocent. It is actually placing literally everyone I know (and some people that I do not) above the Lord. The first thing I should do each morning is grab my Bible and read my devotion to see what God has for me today. Is this inconvenient? Yes, this is very inconvenient; I could be getting ready, checking social media, or whatever else we always try to put above God, but this action of doing our devotions before anything else in the morning is putting God first. Not only should we make our devotions a priority, but we should also make church attendance a priority. It is obvious that fewer people are attending church now than ever before. When the church doors are open, we need to put God first, not our own comfort. Everyone is busy. Everyone. The fact that you are busy should not prohibit you from attending church; rather, it should push you to become a better manager of your time.
According to BecomingHisEve.com, we must take six steps to guard our heart against our spouse becoming our idol. First, we must start with an authentic relationship with Jesus Christ. We will never put our spouse in their correct place if we do not put Christ in His correct place. Secondly, we must ask God to reveal to us when we make our spouse an idol. In dating relationships, this big reveal will many times come from parents or your youth pastor. Thirdly, we must allow Christ to be the God of our life. Fourthly, we must keep healthy boundaries. This step comes with the recognition that your spouse is responsible for his thoughts, feelings, and actions, and you are responsible for your own. Fifthly, we need to keep healthy expectations. This step goes hand-in-hand with not placing our spouse on a pedestal. Lastly, we must recognize that our true happiness is found in Christ. If we are looking to another person for happiness, we will never find true happiness. God is the only one who can give lasting joy; if we look to someone else for joy, we will soon resent them when they cannot give it to us.
Finances
When the Christmas season rolls around, and we did not do any of our shopping throughout the year, we have to spend several hundred dollars in one month. That money has to come from somewhere, but it should not come from our tithe. Everything that we own is not our own; it is God's. God requires that we give Him back 10% of what we have. Anything less than that is not only placing God at a secondary position, but it is stealing from Him. Rather than stealing from Jesus on His birthday, we should consider to give Him more. I have always thought that it was interesting how when we celebrate The Lord's birthday, we give everyone a gift in our lives except for the One Who we are celebrating.
In conclusion, putting Christ first is inconvenient, but the very inconvenience of putting God first makes it incredibly important for us to purposefully put Him first in every area of our life. God went through many inconveniences for us so that we might be saved. It was inconvenient for Christ to come to this earth, live in this imperfect world, be mocked by the very ones He was trying to save, die for our sins, and ultimately, rise from the grave, shocking people by doing exactly what he had been preaching His entire life. Christ died so that we might live, so the least that we could do is to live and go through the inconveniences for the cause of Christ.
Have you ever had to choose between putting God first and what was convenient? Share your story in the comments!
Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me. - Matthew 19:21
We then go on to read that the man walked away and was very sad because he was rich. It obviously was inconvenient for him to put Christ first, but unlike Peter and Andrew, he refused to go through the inconveniences for Christ. Christ was testing Him to see if He meant more to the man than his possessions. The man was not willing to do what he had to do to put Christ first in his life. We do not even know this man's name; we only know that he valued possessions over the Savior. If he was willing to go through the initial inconveniences for the Lord, then he could have still been remembered today for all of the great things that he accomplished for the Lord. The Lord will sometimes test us to see if we are willing to drop everything that we love to follow Him. With this being said, the Lord will not require that we leave where we are just to abandon us. The Lord leaves us with a distinct promise to never leave us in Matthew:
Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen. - Matthew 28:20
Time
One of my 10th grade girls wrote the following:
Putting Christ first is very inconvenient sometimes. Certain events will fall on a Sunday and it is always hard to choose the right thing. Christ put us first when he died for us, so we should be able to do the same. We will reap the consequences, good or bad, for every decision we make. Putting God first is important if we are Christians; it is important that we show respect to God! Jesus went through many inconveniences for us, so it is the least we could do for Him.
Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. - Hebrews 10:25
It is so easy for us to proclaim that we put God first, but that does not mean that we are actually living in a way that places God above all else - including our special someone. I have actually known people that seem to worship their significant other and put their word above what the Word of God says. I love my husband more that I love anything else in this world; however, that does not include the Lord. My love for the Lord should actually be more than my love for my husband. We, as Christians, need to guard our hearts against making our spouse our idol. Our spouse was never meant to be on a pedestal; they are human. They make mistakes. Whenever we put a human in the place of a god, we will soon realize that they are not God. They will come crashing down from their pedestal, and we will resent them for not being the person we once thought them to be.
Relationships
Finances
When the Christmas season rolls around, and we did not do any of our shopping throughout the year, we have to spend several hundred dollars in one month. That money has to come from somewhere, but it should not come from our tithe. Everything that we own is not our own; it is God's. God requires that we give Him back 10% of what we have. Anything less than that is not only placing God at a secondary position, but it is stealing from Him. Rather than stealing from Jesus on His birthday, we should consider to give Him more. I have always thought that it was interesting how when we celebrate The Lord's birthday, we give everyone a gift in our lives except for the One Who we are celebrating.
In conclusion, putting Christ first is inconvenient, but the very inconvenience of putting God first makes it incredibly important for us to purposefully put Him first in every area of our life. God went through many inconveniences for us so that we might be saved. It was inconvenient for Christ to come to this earth, live in this imperfect world, be mocked by the very ones He was trying to save, die for our sins, and ultimately, rise from the grave, shocking people by doing exactly what he had been preaching His entire life. Christ died so that we might live, so the least that we could do is to live and go through the inconveniences for the cause of Christ.
Have you ever had to choose between putting God first and what was convenient? Share your story in the comments!
4 comments
Great thoughts. I might add personal rights to your list. We live in an entitlement world where most people want to be first. Following Christ is following his example in Matthew 20:28 "just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many".
ReplyDeleteThat is an excellent thought, Robert. We truly live in an entitled world, as you said, who believes that they are to be served. We, as Christians, should be different from the world around us and look to see how we can serve others.
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