Tag: Priorities

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Loving God the Most: Making Jesus’ Priorities Ours

A classic object lesson of time management involves a jar with sand, pebbles, water, and big rocks. The first part of the lesson is to put in the pebbles, the sand, and the water. Then, you try to put in the big rocks. You can’t. It’s already full. However, if you start with the big rocks, you can then add the pebbles, the sand, and the water. The lesson? Put in your big rocks first.

When it comes to time management, you should always start with your big rocks. For example, if you value your children, you shouldn’t wait to the end of the week to find time for them. You probably won’t. But if you block out time for your kids each week, then you will be more likely to spend time with them. Plus, you’ll find that you get the other stuff done, too. The pebbles, sand, and water will fit in the jar just fine.

Once you understand that principle, you then need to discover what your big rocks are. What are the most important things in your life? Are they on your schedule? That’s how you make sure, as Goethe says, that “[t]hings which matter most” will “never be at the mercy of things which matter least” (cited in Stephen R. Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, 146).

The question I want to pose here is this, what big rocks would Jesus want you to put in first? One big part of loving God is making His priorities ours. What priorities does Jesus have that you do not? What would Jesus want to make sure is on your schedule that may not be there? What would He add to your schedule, if He was making your schedule for the week?

Big Rock #1: Telling People About Jesus
I want to suggest two big rocks that you need to put in your schedule first to align your priorities with Jesus’. The first is evangelism. This means getting to know people who do not know Jesus and then telling them about Jesus. You do not love people simply to tell them about Jesus. You love people, and one part of loving them is telling them about Jesus. It’s loving because it’s good to know Jesus. Continue reading “Loving God the Most: Making Jesus’ Priorities Ours”

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7 Things I Would Like to Have Told to 18 Year Old Wes

Recently, I was writing a letter to an 18 year old serving at a camp. This person asked for letters while they were there. It made me think, what would I have told myself at 18 if I could go back in time? I gave it some thought, and here’s what I came up with.

  1. Think about the big questions. Don’t just take for granted why you’re here and what you’ve been told. Think about it for yourself and try to understand reality, making your views your own.
  2. When you’ve thought through something, have confidence in your thoughts and move forward. At the same time, be kind and willing to listen to those who have different thoughts.
  3. Almost everything that is good in life takes work. Start as early as you can working on the skills that will serve you, bless others, and glorify God. These are things like friendships, spiritual growth, physical training, languages, and musical instruments. “Art is long, and time is fleeting.”
  4. Take advantage of the opportunities you have to see new things and experience new and different things. For example, travel will not get easier when you are older and have a family.
  5. Make God the first priority with your time, money, and energy. You’ll never regret it, and this is the thing that you were created for first and foremost.
  6. Closely related, always think through what you want to do with your time and money and be deliberate. You either tell your time and money what to do, or it will tell you what to do.
  7. Give attention to your emotional life. One’s emotions often (rarely?) reflect reality, so begin reframing the stories that you tell yourself that shape your emotions. Give attention to your emotional interactions with the important people in your life and learn to navigate them well.

Looking at my life, 27 years later, these are the things I would have wanted myself to consider at 18. God willing, I still have a lot of life in front of me. So, I’ll work to implement these things now.

What advice would you like to have given to 18 year old you?

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Saying One Thing & Doing Another

Eliza, in the musical My Fair Lady sings:

Words, words, words!
I’m so sick of words
I get words all day through
First from him, now from you
Is that all you blighters can do?

Don’t talk of stars, burning above
If you’re in love, show me!
Tell me no dreams, filled with desire
If you’re on fire, show me!

Eliza is right. What really matters is not so much what we say but what we do. We can tell our children we love them, but if our work consumes us, the words matter very little.

The Apostle Paul was continually concerned that the churches he loved and served would not only talk about the Gospel but live a life that was appropriate and consistent with the Gospel. “Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ” (1:27, cf. Eph. 4:1, Col. 1:10, 1 Thess. 2:12, 2 Thess. 1:11). Their walk needed to match their talk.

What would a life worthy of the Gospel look like?

  • They would live in humility, recognizing that they were sinners saved only by the grace of God.
  • They would live in trust, recognizing that the same Father who gave up His only Son would not fail to give them all other things as well.

    • Continue reading “Saying One Thing & Doing Another”

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