Priorities

[GoldenEagle]

This is a spin off thread off of "Tithing" in the Outer Court - Outer Court. These are priorities I submit would be a good guideline for Christians.

Priorities for a Christian should be:

1. Relationship to God

2. Relationship to Family

3. Ministry/Work

I think people often forget this and want to put Ministry/Work in the #2 spot.

I love this numeric sequencing of priority BUT what about this verse in relation to 2 and 3?

Mt 19:29-30

29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My name's sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life. 30 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.

NKJV

It seems 1 stands always but 2 and 3 may be inverted depending on 1. Love, Steven

Priorities: Jesus made it very clear throughout His ministry what His priorities were and how each of us should follow His example.

He addressed the two fundamental categories that encompass all priorities. Jesus taught…

Matthew 22:37-40

³⁷ Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ ³⁸ This is the first and great commandment. ³⁹ And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ ⁴⁰ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”

The first commandment addressed the vertical relationship between man and God. The second commandment addressed the horizontal relationship with other people. All of your priorities as a Christian will likely fall into these two basic categories.

I actually would like to expand the order to differentiate between marriage and family. I would also like split ministry and work:

1. Loyalty to God – God comes first as we are commanded to Love God with all of our being and have no other gods before Him.

Deuteronomy 6:5

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.

Exodus 20:2

You shall have no other gods before Me.

2. Loyalty to Spouse – Nothing should ever become husband and wife who are knit together by God as one flesh. (Matt. 19:6) Men are to love their wives sacrificially and unconditionally. Women are to honor their husbands sacrificially and unconditionally. (Eph 5:33)

Matthew 19:6

“So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.”

Ephesians 5:33

Let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects [honors] her husband.

3. Loyalty to Family – First to children as they are a gift from God (Psalm 127:3) and parent’s responsibility to bring children up in the Lord. (Eph 6:4) Parents are to instruct and give their children the law. (Prov. 1:8) Next parents & siblings, etc.

Proverbs 1:8

My son, hear the instruction of your father, And do not forsake the law of your mother.

Ephesians 6:4

And you, fathers [and by implication mothers], do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.

We are also called to provide for our own family. (1 Tim. 5:8) This included parents. Jesus spoke against the Scribes and Pharisees for “following tradition” but not taking care of their parents (Matt. 15:1-11)

1 Timothy 5:8

“But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.”

Matthew 15:4-6

⁴ For God commanded, saying, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.’ ⁵ But you say, ‘Whoever says to his father or mother, “Whatever profit you might have received from me is a gift to God”— ⁶ then he need not honor his father or mother.’

4. Loyalty to the Church (Ministry) – We are to love God, love people, take care of our own house, then look after the ministries in the Church.

If you are reading this right now and you are a Christian serving the Church in some capacity and have put the service to the Church above your spouse or children, please hear what I am about to say.

This can’t go on indefinitely.

When your service to the church has a higher priority than those people in your own family, something has to give. Your marriage will suffer and your children will become angry with you. Even your ministry will become toilsome because when your home is not in order it’s difficult to minister to others with joy. At the very least you will be unhappy. Your relationships at home must be your priority.

1 Tim 3:5

For if a man does not know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the church of God?

5. Loyalty to Work or Job – Why does ministry come before work? Because we are citizens of Heaven.

Philippians 3:20

“For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.”

The Gospel is the priority. Riches and all things in this life will pass away. Many people have said, “I don’t have time to serve the Lord or go to church or do family things because I’ve got to provide for my family.” I would agree that providing for your family is very important, but when there is never any time left to serve the Lord or be a companion to your spouse or children, then something is wrong.

Don’t let the seeds of the Gospel be choked by the things of this world…

Mark4:19

...and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.

Do you agree or disagree? Anything to add?

Christ is Risen!

Eagle

Edit: to add Matthew 15 to #3 Family.

Edited October 16, 2012 by GoldenEagle

[GoldenEagle]

Priorities for a Christian should be:

1. Relationship to God

2. Relationship to Family

3. Ministry/Work

I think people often forget this and want to put Ministry/Work in the #2 spot.

I love this numeric sequencing of priority BUT what about this verse in relation to 2 and 3?

Mt 19:29-30

29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands,

for My name's sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life. 30 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.

NKJV

It seems 1 stands always but 2 and 3 may be inverted depending on 1. Love, Steven

Steven, see my response below brother. God bless you!

Background: This is right after the rich young ruler walks away because he loved money more than God.

Passage In Context:

Matthew 19:23-30

²³ Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. ²⁴ And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”

²⁵ When His disciples heard it, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?”

²⁶ But Jesus looked at them and said to them, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

²⁷ Then Peter answered and said to Him, “See, we have left all and followed You. Therefore what shall we have?”

²⁸ So Jesus said to them, “Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. ²⁹ And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My name’s sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life. ³⁰ But many who are first will be last, and the last first.

Vs. 23-24 – Believing in Christ is hard especially if you are rich.

Vs. 25 – The disciples want to know who can be saved if rich people have a hard time entering the Kingdom of God. Rich people were thought to be blessed by God and therefore more worthy in Jewish Palestinian culture to enter Paradise (Heaven). So this teaching was anti-cultural by Jesus and surprised His listeners.

Vs. 26 – God is able to do all things.

Vs. 27 – Then Peter spoke up and said “Wait a second we’re following you and we thought we were going to get into the Kingdom of God?”

Vs. 28 – Those 12 Apostles (The 11 plus Paul or Matthais depending on your belief system but that is a subject for another thread) will sit on thrones of judgement to judge Israel (and by inference those who are adopted into the family of God).

Vs. 29 – First we commanded by the Lord to keep our marriage vows (1 Cor. 7:10-11) But we must be willing to give everything for Christ. God has required total commitment from His followers, to the point of heart-breaking separation from any natural family members who reject Jesus, but in heaven we will have a hundred times what we lost—an entire family of believers who love Christ and who love us! Even the material things that we had forsaken in order to follow Him will be given back to us in a form a hundred times better than what we lost! So, He is a good God, after all, and, no, He does not want us to literally hate (viciously despise or wish harm to) the members of our family. All we are required to do is choose Jesus over them even if they force us to do so by rejecting Him. Also those who leave their land to go tell others the Good News will receive 100 fold eternal rewards. This might very cause In Luke 14:26 we are commanded to hate all as well for the sake of Christ. Jesus may have chosen the word "hate" to show us that this is how a mother or father will perceive the actions of a child who chooses the Lord above them. They will see it as disloyal, especially if we try to witness to them. The love of a Christian for a non-Christian is almost always seen as hatred, intolerance, bigotry, etc. But we must be okay with being seen as "hating." After all, our unbelieving relatives are part of the world. And Christ warns:

John 15:18

If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you.

Vs. 30 – It will be interesting to see in eternity who will have higher honor in God’s Kingdom. I think this verse points out that we will be surprised. For example we love to talk about Paul as he was a very influential writer in the NT. But what of people like Barnabas who gave everything he had to the Apostles (Acts 4:36-37) and mentored Paul?

Do you agree or disagree? Anything to add?

In Christ,

Eagle

Edited October 9, 2012 by GoldenEagle

[Steve_S]

Priorities for a Christian should be:

1. Relationship to God

2. Relationship to Family

3. Ministry/Work

I think people often forget this and want to put Ministry/Work in the #2 spot.

I love this numeric sequencing of priority BUT what about this verse in relation to 2 and 3?

Mt 19:29-30

29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands,

for My name's sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life. 30 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.

NKJV

It seems 1 stands always but 2 and 3 may be inverted depending on 1. Love, Steven

Steven, see my response below brother. God bless you!

Background: This is right after the rich young ruler walks away because he loved money more than God.

Passage In Context:

Matthew 19:23-30

²³ Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. ²⁴ And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”

²⁵ When His disciples heard it, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?”

²⁶ But Jesus looked at them and said to them, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

²⁷ Then Peter answered and said to Him, “See, we have left all and followed You. Therefore what shall we have?”

²⁸ So Jesus said to them, “Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. ²⁹ And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My name’s sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life. ³⁰ But many who are first will be last, and the last first.

Vs. 23-24 – Believing in Christ is hard especially if you are rich.

Vs. 25 – The disciples want to know who can be saved if rich people have a hard time entering the Kingdom of God. Rich people were thought to be blessed by God and therefore more worthy in Jewish Palestinian culture to enter Paradise (Heaven). So this teaching was anti-cultural by Jesus and surprised His listeners.

Vs. 26 – God is able to do all things.

Vs. 27 – Then Peter spoke up and said “Wait a second we’re following you and we thought we were going to get into the Kingdom of God?”

Vs. 28 – Those 12 Apostles (The 11 plus Paul or Matthais depending on your belief system but that is a subject for another thread) will sit on thrones of judgement to judge Israel (and by inference those who are adopted into the family of God).

Vs. 29 – First we commanded by the Lord to keep our marriage vows (1 Cor. 7:10-11) But we must be willing to give everything for Christ. God has required total commitment from His followers, to the point of heart-breaking separation from any natural family members who reject Jesus, but in heaven we will have a hundred times what we lost—an entire family of believers who love Christ and who love us! Even the material things that we had forsaken in order to follow Him will be given back to us in a form a hundred times better than what we lost! So, He is a good God, after all, and, no, He does not want us to literally hate (viciously despise or wish harm to) the members of our family. All we are required to do is choose Jesus over them even if they force us to do so by rejecting Him. Also those who leave their land to go tell others the Good News will receive 100 fold eternal rewards. This might very cause In Luke 14:26 we are commanded to hate all as well for the sake of Christ. Jesus may have chosen the word "hate" to show us that this is how a mother or father will perceive the actions of a child who chooses the Lord above them. They will see it as disloyal, especially if we try to witness to them. The love of a Christian for a non-Christian is almost always seen as hatred, intolerance, bigotry, etc. But we must be okay with being seen as "hating." After all, our unbelieving relatives are part of the world. And Christ warns:

John 15:18

If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you.

Vs. 30 – It will be interesting to see in eternity who will have higher honor in God’s Kingdom. I think this verse points out that we will be surprised. For example we love to talk about Paul as he was a very influential writer in the NT. But what of people like Barnabas who gave everything he had to the Apostles (Acts 4:36-37) and mentored Paul?

Do you agree or disagree? Anything to add?

In Christ,

Eagle

As far as your final question, I've never pondered whether paul or barnabas would have a higher honor in God's kingdom, as it doesn't really matter to me, because the purpose is God in the end and that's where all the glory needs to go.

[GoldenEagle]

Vs. 30 – It will be interesting to see in eternity who will have higher honor in God’s Kingdom. I think this verse points out that we will be surprised. For example we love to talk about Paul as he was a very influential writer in the NT. But what of people like Barnabas who gave everything he had to the Apostles (Acts 4:36-37) and mentored Paul?

Do you agree or disagree? Anything to add?

In Christ,

Eagle

As far as your final question, I've never pondered whether paul or barnabas would have a higher honor in God's kingdom, as it doesn't really matter to me, because the purpose is God in the end and that's where all the glory needs to go.

The point was that people don't know who will be honored in God's kingdom. People like Billy Graham are often considered heroes of the faith. It was really more of a passing comment. I agree God will get all the glory. But some will have more crowns to throw at His feet than others. Thus the reason we store up treasures in Heaven... ?

Curious if you believe people will be rewarded for their actions on this earth?

[GoldenEagle]

Priorities for a Christian should be:

1. Relationship to God

2. Relationship to Family

3. Ministry/Work

I think people often forget this and want to put Ministry/Work in the #2 spot.

I love this numeric sequencing of priority BUT what about this verse in relation to 2 and 3?

Mt 19:29-30

29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands,

for My name's sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life. 30 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.

NKJV

It seems 1 stands always but 2 and 3 may be inverted depending on 1. Love, Steven

Steven, see my response below brother. God bless you!

Background: This is right after the rich young ruler walks away because he loved money more than God.

Passage In Context:

Matthew 19:23-30

²³ Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. ²⁴ And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”

²⁵ When His disciples heard it, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?”

²⁶ But Jesus looked at them and said to them, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

²⁷ Then Peter answered and said to Him, “See, we have left all and followed You. Therefore what shall we have?”

²⁸ So Jesus said to them, “Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. ²⁹ And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My name’s sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life. ³⁰ But many who are first will be last, and the last first.

Vs. 23-24 – Believing in Christ is hard especially if you are rich.

Vs. 25 – The disciples want to know who can be saved if rich people have a hard time entering the Kingdom of God. Rich people were thought to be blessed by God and therefore more worthy in Jewish Palestinian culture to enter Paradise (Heaven). So this teaching was anti-cultural by Jesus and surprised His listeners.

Vs. 26 – God is able to do all things.

Vs. 27 – Then Peter spoke up and said “Wait a second we’re following you and we thought we were going to get into the Kingdom of God?”

Vs. 28 – Those 12 Apostles (The 11 plus Paul or Matthais depending on your belief system but that is a subject for another thread) will sit on thrones of judgement to judge Israel (and by inference those who are adopted into the family of God).

Vs. 29 – First we commanded by the Lord to keep our marriage vows (1 Cor. 7:10-11) But we must be willing to give everything for Christ. God has required total commitment from His followers, to the point of heart-breaking separation from any natural family members who reject Jesus, but in heaven we will have a hundred times what we lost—an entire family of believers who love Christ and who love us! Even the material things that we had forsaken in order to follow Him will be given back to us in a form a hundred times better than what we lost! So, He is a good God, after all, and, no, He does not want us to literally hate (viciously despise or wish harm to) the members of our family. All we are required to do is choose Jesus over them even if they force us to do so by rejecting Him. Also those who leave their land to go tell others the Good News will receive 100 fold eternal rewards. This might very cause In Luke 14:26 we are commanded to hate all as well for the sake of Christ. Jesus may have chosen the word "hate" to show us that this is how a mother or father will perceive the actions of a child who chooses the Lord above them. They will see it as disloyal, especially if we try to witness to them. The love of a Christian for a non-Christian is almost always seen as hatred, intolerance, bigotry, etc. But we must be okay with being seen as "hating." After all, our unbelieving relatives are part of the world. And Christ warns:

John 15:18

If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you.

Vs. 30 – It will be interesting to see in eternity who will have higher honor in God’s Kingdom. I think this verse points out that we will be surprised. For example we love to talk about Paul as he was a very influential writer in the NT. But what of people like Barnabas who gave everything he had to the Apostles (Acts 4:36-37) and mentored Paul?

Do you agree or disagree? Anything to add?

In Christ,

Eagle

As far as your final question, I've never pondered whether paul or barnabas would have a higher honor in God's kingdom, as it doesn't really matter to me, because the purpose is God in the end and that's where all the glory needs to go.

What about the rest?