June 22: Priorities

"If it makes you happy,
it can't be that bad.
If it makes you happy,
then why the hell are you so sad?"
-- Sheryl Crow

What are the things that make us happy? The world says our priorities should be money, power, sex, and possessions. The more we have of any of these things, the happier we are! You don't have to believe me. Just look around. We are bombarded by these ideas in advertising, music, television and movies.

These aren't God's priorities, are they? In fact, the Bible tells us time and time again that the world has its priorities messed up. Jesus had a life full of things that seemed foolish by the world's standards: As King of Kings, he acted like a servant; he preached such oddities as love your enemies and the beatitudes; and he did the ultimate backwards act, he allowed himself to be put to death even though he was sinless and blameless.


How do we find God's priorities for our lives. Thankfully, God has provided us with an instruction manual for life, a way to talk with Him and an example of someone who did both. If we follow Jesus' example, we know that we need to study the Bible and pray in order to best know God's plan for us.

True joy is found when we understand the spiritual gifts that God has given us, know how we're supposed to use them and then do just that. The happiness that the world offers is short-lived and unfulfilling, but following God's priorities leads to true joy.