LOVE FIRST SERVE SECOND


When I start feeling the poor-poor-pitiful-me state of mind it usually means that there is something wrong with my entire approach to my life’s priorities. They are out of sync. This is when I hear Jesus saying to me, just as he said to Martha in Luke 10:41, “Eddie, Eddie…you just don’t get it do you?” Eddie you are worried and upset over all these details! There is only one thing worth being concerned about at this point. Eddie you need to be sitting at my feet and spending time in my presence.

Christ-follower here is one of the most important life lessons you can learn if you find yourself living in the poor-poor-pitiful-me syndrome. If you can integrate this spiritual truth into your daily walk, you will rejuvenate your spiritual life, your relationship with God, your relationship with others, and the way you pursue your life’s priorities.

This is a must learn: Jesus wants to be loved before he wants to be served.

Before you do anything publicly for God you must fellowship with him privately. The Lord wants your companionship before he wants your service. Jesus wants you to serve him, no question about it, but he wants you to serve him after you fellowship with him, after you spend time in his presence.

Have you been so overwhelmed with the do’s and don'ts of life that you’ve lost the sense of his presence in your life? You are at that point you need to hit the reset button on your life—just like when your PC locks up, it needs a reboot. To keep your life moving in the right direction, you need to nail down the above mentioned truth. It is simply a matter of first-things-first. The rule for living a life in God is now and always will be—Love First, Serve Second. This rule also applies to your marriage, to your children, and to every relationship that matters. Love first, serve second. If life is out of control take my advice and make it a habit to sit down and sit still in the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ every day of your life. You do this by spending time in prayer, reading the Word. If you put this at the top of your life list of priorities you will discover that the order of the other priorities in your life will fall into place. I think you will find the payoff is worth the investment. Love first. Serve second.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The 80-20 Rule

In 1906, Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto created a mathematical formula to describe the unequal distribution of wealth in his country, observing that twenty percent of the people owned eighty percent of the wealth. The Pareto Principle, or 80/20 rule, states that 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes.   Although this rule was first applied in Italy when Pareto was looking at the dispersal of wealth, it has since become a rule of thumb for many businesses.   It has been said that 20% of your workforce does 80% of the work, or 80% of your sales come from 20% of your clients.   I think this law comes into play in our lives as well.   Life is 20% what happens to you and 80% what you make of it. There are tons of stories about people who come out of difficult situations — gang life, in and out of jail, drug addiction, broken families, abuse – yet still seem to rise to the top.   And of course, there are many stories of those who have been given...
Read more

Control Yourself

When it comes to our life, we have nothing to say about our birth and little say about our death, but in between these two events most of the decisions are ours to be made. Are you letting life and circumstances control you, or are you controlling your own life and destiny with God’s help. Don't let life pass you by when you have the God-given ability to make things happen. I've heard it said: You can't control the length of your life, but you can control its use. You can't control your facial appearance, but you can control its expression. You can't control the weather, but you can control the moral atmosphere that surrounds you. You can't control the distance of your head above the ground, but you can control the height of the contents in your head. You can't control the other fellow's annoying faults, but you can see to it that you do not develop similar faults. Why worry about things you cannot cont...
Read more

Bounce Back

As a 7th grader in junior high school, I was devastated when I was cut from the starting 8th grade football team and sent to the second team.   I felt disappointed, embarrassed and dejected.   Latter that week, I spoke with my grandfather who passed on these words of wisdom, “It’s not how far you fall, but how high you bounce back that matters.”   I took those words to heart. The Bible says in Proverbs 25:11, “Timely advice is lovely, like golden apples in a silver basket.” I valued his wise words and committed to doing my best for this second string team, instead of pouting and complaining over my sense of failure. I committed to working hard, giving my all to bounce back. It served me well as I entered high school and played on two state championship teams. I learned that day that what happens to me in life doesn’t count as much as how I react to those things.   I had a choice the day I was cut from the team—I could wallow in misery and quit the team, or I ...
Read more