Is Busyness Next to Godliness+

BUSY, BUSY, BUSY......does that sound familiar? It seems that these days people are moving faster than ever before. One person said that we all have become fanatics, which by his definition is someone who doubles their efforts when they have lost sight of the goal.
All of us have a multiple of demands upon our lives. Most bloggers are students, and you know how busy you can get, classes....homework....job....relationships...church.....sports, etc. etc. You are looking for a good relationship with the opposite sex and we KNOW that takes TIME. If you are married you have spouse. You are rightfully expected to meet their needs, to seek to love them more, and to continually work to make your marriage better. In this day and age it is vital for you to be creative in displaying your love, and to be a constant encouragement to the other. If you have been blessed with children, you need to understand each of their individual bents and ways, help them grow in discernment, and seek to get them all of what they need and some of what they want!!! One of the greatest challenges in our culture is to get them to all of their extra-curricular activities and make it to as many as you can, and if you fail at all of that, at least you try to keep them alive until they move out!!
We have extended families as well, and we seek to make sure we remember all the appropriate birthdays and anniversaries, and get together with them before they pass away. The dreaded trip to see cousin Sam takes time, and when we go on the trip there are other priorities that are going without our attention.
Your physical dwelling needs to be maintained, the garage needs to be cleaned, or worse than that your room. Your Dad may have just asked you to weed the yard or clean the pool, or your mom to cook a meal (YEAH RIGHT). On top of that you want to make another post so your friends won't think you have fallen into the abyss!
With all of the above, you and I have a full boat of priorities don’t we? I haven’t even mentioned the letters to be written, the bills to be paid, the fat cells to be burned off, the vacations to be planned, the financial decisions to made for the future, schools to be applied to, scholarships to seek.....I think you get the picture!
I haven't even thrown in the most important aspect of life, which is our spiritual standing before God. Our spiritual lives are the most significant part of our being. With everything in life so complicated, it is wonderful to know that when it comes to true spirituality, Jesus boiled the priorities down into simplified form for us. A man had over heard Jesus debating with some of the religious authorities of the day, and he came and asked the Lord a question about priorities. What is the most important priority in life? Listen to the words of Jesus from the 12th chapter of the Gospel of Mark.
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.”....... “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
Ah, there it is in simple form, love God and love others. One would think with all of the material being written today that our major priority is to love ourselves. However, our major priority according to Jesus is that we love God first and foremost, and that we love others as we love ourselves. A quick look around the landscape of life informs us that this is not the ethic of the day. We are told to “Grab for the Gusto”. We are exhorted to “have it our way”. What is the problem? People are selfish. Why are people so selfish? The Bible tells us it is because all of us are sinners. The priorities of our culture are in disarray not simply because of bad politics, but because of bad hearts, and none of us are exempt. Is there a solution?? I am glad to be able report a resounding yes! Jesus Christ came into the world to pay the price for sin. When a person repents of their sin, and comes to Christ believing that his death on the cross is sufficient payment for sin, God then creates in that person a new passion to love Him and others. We can fulfill our first priority by coming to God through His son the Lord Jesus Christ. If you are as busy as I am, it would be easy to let the tyranny of the urgent drown out the deepest need of your heart, which is to know and love God. Remember your first priority is to the Lord and live for His Glory!