We all have priorities in our lives that we keep. What are your priorities? Do they line up with what God would view as top priorities? What He views as the greatest should be the priorities we seek to keep above all else.
What Should Be Our Top Priorities?
Certainly it would make sense that if Jesus identifies two commands as the greatest, those commands should be our top priorities. In short, He said that loving God with all of who we are should be our top priority. Love for people comes next. See Matthew 22:36-40.
Since this question has been addressed elsewhere on our sites, I’ll just give you some links to check out. This post is going to look at the perspective we need to keep those priorities once we know what they should be.
- Loving God the Top Priority in Your Church?
- Loving People a Priority in Your Church?
- Prioritized Schedules: The Number One Priority
- Prioritized Schedules: The Second Priority
What Perspective is Needed to Keep the Right Priorities?
If Jesus’ priorities are going to be ours, then we need to broaden our perspective so our hearts and minds head in that direction.
First we need to consider why love for God and people should be our top priorities apart from the commands to do so.
God is the One of whom there is none greater. He is above all and all belongs to Him. Hence, He is worthy of our full devotion. Because He is a personal God filled with love and compassion, He doesn’t merely look for devotion that comes from robotic obedience but rather desires that devotion to be of a relational nature. Jesus clearly stated that we keep His commands out of love, not duty (Jn. 14:15).
People are made in the image of God and hence are important. Read Psalm 8 for the supremacy of mankind over all other creation. Read Psalm 139 and Matthew 6:26 for how God continues to value people. If we love God, we will love people (1 Jn. 4:21) for they are important to Him.
Second, we need to understand that loving God with all of who we are and loving others as ourselves is possible because He first loved us.
The ability for us to love starts with knowing the God who is love (1 Jn. 4:7-8) and who demonstrated that love by sending Jesus to die in our place (1 Jn. 4:9-11). This is a love so great that is beyond our ability to measure (Eph. 3:17-19).
The ability for us to love more and more completely comes from knowing and relying on that love God has for us which provides the assurances we need to truly love. Fear is what tends to hold us back from loving God more fully and loving others as ourselves — fear of loss, fear of failure, fear of getting hurt, fear of disappointment, fear of betrayal, etc. (1 Jn. 4:12-19). When we know and rely on His love we push through those fears, doubts, and insecurities. “We love because he first loved us.” (1 Jn. 4:19)
With this kind of perspective we are in a position to keep the right priorities but it is going to take more than a mental understanding of these two points. We need divine power to grasp that love (Eph. 3:17-21) — the topic for the next post. Let me encourage you to subscribe to this blog to receive e-mail notice of new posts so you don’t miss this important message.