The God-first Mentality and a Fence
Put God first. Friends have said it me, and I have said it to friends. It seems rather simple, but it can be daunting advice. Being someone who has a track record of letting his career define himself, I could do better at putting God first. Actually, the reason that I have not posted anything in over a month is my career. Therefore, I have experience with this issue.
Putting God first. What does that look like? Well, it is difficult to describe until someone commits. Basically, we need to “get off the fence”. The fence is a great analogy. Fences divide property. Adjacent land owners will often share the cost of the fence that divides their properties. So, the fence is not owned by anyone. The fence is neutral, so to speak. And neutrality is comfortable. If you are neutral, you really do not have to offend anyone. However, God does not respect neutrality. He wants your love and attention. He wants you to stand for something….HIM. Actually, Jesus is the most popular person to ever exist…. who actually stood for something. So, have a “come to Jesus meeting” with yourself. Ask, “What do I believe?”. If you believe God is the almighty creator, Jesus is his son, Jesus died for you, and you have accepted Jesus, then the second part of this blog post is important. If you cannot affirm the preceding statement, then I cannot help you in this particular post. However, I have previous posts that are helpful to skeptics. I would also suggest the book, Cold Case Christianity or the dvd, “The Case for Christ”. The movie “God’s not Dead” is good as well.
Okay, back to putting God first. The following are suggestions. I am, by no means, an expert. As soon as you wake up, read something Godly (Bible, devotional, etc). Not only will it ease anxiety, it shows God he is important because you did it first….before any of the day’s activities. Re-arrange your schedule to include Godly activities (church, small groups, service projects). Communicate with God throughout the day. I send short prayers, or text messages, to God all the time. Basically, sacrifice your own desires for Godly things. You may feel like you are losing something temporarily, but what you gain is eternal.