Putting God First

We've all probably heard others say that God is number one in their life. Some of us have even said that ourselves, and for some it may be true, but if you're anything like me you probably whisper a small "yeah right" in the back of your mind because everything in that person's life---or your own for that matter---is evidence that God is nowhere near being first. So when we talk about "putting God first" in our lives, what does that really look like? How do you go beyond it being just a cliche phrase and making it an actual reality in your life?

For one, it means nurturing your relationship with God by spending time in the Word and in prayer...for longer than five minutes a day. If I were to tell you I love my fiancee and yet I hadn't spent more than five minutes a day with Him in the last several months, you'd probably doubt my love for him. It just naturally follows that if you love someone, you spend time with them. That's why Paul tells us to "pray without ceasing" in 1 Thessalonians 5:17, meaning that we talk to him throughout our day, not just for a five minute block. If a dear friend comes to mind, you pray for them. If temptation is knocking at your door, you pray. If you're just having a bad day, you pray. That's how you communicate with God, and in turn God communicates with you mainly through His Word. That's why having daily devotions is so important to your spiritual health---in order to "hear" God, you have to read and listen to what He has to say first. So if you're ever feeling far from God, just look at the place of these two basic things in your life and ask yourself, has God really left me or am I just ignoring Him?

What else does putting God first look like in every day life? Whether or not God is really first in your life can easily be determined by your priorities. Are you taking the time to study God's word and talk to Him, or are you conveniently shrugging them aside and watching tv or texting instead? Are you actively involved in a church? Do you serve others and allow others to pour into you? And how often are you ditching ministry opportunities for sports or school or friends or boyfriends? Do you fit God into your schedule or do you fit your schedule into your time with God? Your relationship with Jesus Christ means that you have to prioritize Him in your life, which in the busy American life is actually a very difficult thing to do. I'm not saying it's wrong to spend time playing sports or doing homework or hanging out with friends, but you have to be aware of whether or not those things are becoming idols in your life. You can easily fit God and friends into your schedule together, and when you're already prioritizing your relationship with God, you'll find that your relationship with your friends will also change, because you'll be loving them more like Jesus loves them. The same goes with every aspect of your life.

Putting God first also requires spontaneity. Having the Holy Spirit living within you means that sometimes He's going to move you to do something that you don't necessarily want to do. Maybe it requires a change in plans, talking to someone you don't know or like, going somewhere you don't want to go, or just taking a rather frightening leap of faith. Whatever it is, you must allow yourself to first listen to the Spirit and then obey the Spirit. Yes, this means you'll have to do some scary things---like sharing the Gospel, going miles out of your way for someone else, and making sacrifices in your own life like giving up a sport or movie with friends or money that you've been saving up---you may even literally end up dying for it, but Jesus is totally worth it. After all, He died for you...the least we could do is die to ourselves for Him.

And last, putting God first means that He is Lord of your life. He's not just your Creator, not just your Savior, not just your Father, but also your Lord, King, and Master. If God is first in your life, then you're more concerned with what He thinks of you rather than everyone else. You'd rather please your King than please your friends. After all, he's your KING. It's hard for us to understand what it's like to even have a king in America when we trash-talk our own presidents more than we pay them any sort of respect, but when it comes to a real life king, he is to be honored and highly esteemed. When he calls you to his palace, you go. When he commands you to do something or pay something, you do what he says. He leads and you follow. You kneel before Him in His presence and acknowledge Him as greater than you. You serve him without questioning. And when you look at all the kings of the past, it's easy to see that many of them weren't even remotely worthy of being served or honored or respected, but the people did it anyway because they were their kings. Some of these kings killed their own citizens, commited adultery, were greedy, and the list goes on and on, yet they were still honored. But Christ, He is more than worthy. He, the King of Kings, became a suffering servant to save us, His rebellious subjects. He is the only King who has truly LOVED his people, and now we must simply put Him first by loving Him in return through our worship and obedience.

And so if you've ever wondered what it really looks like to put God first in your life, this is a pretty good picture of it. So ask yourselves...is He really first? And if not, don't you think it's time He became your King of Kings?