Just some early morning thoughts from me to you…
“And behold, a man came up to him, saying, ‘Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?’ And he said to him, ‘Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments.’ He said to him, ‘Which ones?’
And Jesus said, ‘You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ The young man said to him, ‘All these I have kept. What do I still lack?’
Jesus said to him, ‘If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.’ When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.”
Matthew 19: 16-22 (ESV)
Stephen Covey wrote a book entitled “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People” suggesting that an effective life is one where you develop a character aligned with timeless and universally recognized habits/principles which Covey referred to as “true north.”
The 3rd habit Covey laid out was to “Put First Things First.”
It emphasized the need to distinguish between the “important” things of life, and those that are simply “urgent” or “not important.”
And then to set our priorities in life based upon what is important. On the “true north,” as Covey said.
Or as we see in the passage above, as Jesus told the young man with great wealth, to set our priorities based upon the eternal things and people, not the worldly or temporary things of life.
And then to follow those eternal and important priorities and let them guide the decisions, direction and destination of our lives.
Easy enough, right?
Not by a long shot.
Because even with the best intentions, we let ourselves get pulled by the urgent, the trappings, the glitz, glamour and transient lure and promises of all the worldly stuff.
The things in life that aren’t important.
Not in the slightest. Not a bit. Not at all.
And certainly not important, when compared to the people in our lives, and the difference we can make in their lives.
Broken down to basics in any spot in life—business, sports, family, education, even government and other public service, young, older, old—it’s all about the things of God.
That’s where we will find the aspects and priorities of life that matter. The things that are important, and that have eternal consequences.
No debate.
Jesus reminds us, like he did that wealthy young man—to focus on the important people and things, the things that truly matter, the eternal things in our lives.
Martin Luther King, Jr. shared it this way—“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”
One-time-around, my friends, to accumulate a bunch of stuff the world says is important, or one-time-around to leave an imprint of fingerprints, eternal fingerprints, on the hearts and lives of those all around us.
Every day we have those choices.
What will your choices be?
In His Name–Scott
