Priority

 “And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.” Colossians 1:18

At a recent Women’s Conference, the speaker explained that the word priority has the original meaning of being but one thing, not a list of things, but one thing of supreme importance. That priority influences and directs everything else. One thing.

Long ago the Lord impressed on me that He wanted to be first in my life, not an afterthought, not if and when I had time, or felt like it, but first. That precept began to invade my life. When my eyes opened in the morning, my first thoughts were of Him, even before my feet hit the floor. My first action of the day was to sit with Him and a cup of coffee. When decisions had to be made, they were taken first to Him. God first in all things. It was life changing, mind altering, and heart refreshing. He affected everything about me.

As I was reading in Matthew 26, I became aware of how the concept of priority affected Mary of Bethany and Judas. Jesus was on Mary’s mind to the extent that she perceived His coming death and brought a costly gift to anoint Him for burial. The disciples missed it completely, even after it had been explained to them on several occasions. Jesus was Mary’s priority.

Then we have Judas. What was his priority? To simplify matters, it seems to me that his priority was Judas. He stole from the moneybag for his own gain. The teaching of humility and submission did not sit well with Judas. I believe he was seeking power and position and authority. And when things got gritty, the lure of money and being in favor with the religious establishment appealed to him more than Jesus did.

Mary acted out of her priority and Judas acted out of his priority. Jesus said of Mary, “Assuredly I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her” (Matthew 26:13). Jesus said of Judas, “The Son of Man indeed goes as it was written of Him, but woe to him by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born” (Matthew 26:24).

What is your one thing? What is your priority?

Father, if we get nothing else right, let us get this deep in our souls. You are first and foremost in all things. The rest is just details. To You be all praise. Amen.