Who or What Is First in Your Life?
How would you answer this question: “Who or What Is First in Your Life?”
I’ve been around long enough to know that, in your answer to that question, you probably lied to yourself a little. You, like me, probably picked something that was important, but likely wasn’t the most important thing. It’s not something we do on purpose; we’re just not always good at recognizing what truly matters most to us. It’s like our head and our heart aren’t on the same page.
So, how do we know what really is first in our life?
I think the answer is found in Matthew 6:21: “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
This is one time where I will say that following your heart will lead you to the right answer. Most times when someone says, “Listen to your heart,” I come back with Jeremiah 17:9:
“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?”
But in this instance, if we want to find out what is first in our life, we simply need to follow our heart. Our heart reveals what we truly treasure, because it is what leads us to place something above God in our lives — something Jesus warns against in Matthew 6:19–24.
19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, 23 but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! 24 “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”
These verses illustrate a key battle we all face. The battle for our hearts.
God wants us to prioritize the things that are of His Kingdom, the things of eternity over the things of this earth. Let’s look at a couple of truths we can pick up from this passage.
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth…but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven.”
ECNT: “Originally meaning the box or hole in the ground where people ‘store up’ or ‘deposit’ their precious possessions, ‘treasure’ came to mean what is precious or treasured by a person and, by extension, the great ‘treasure’ one finds or is given.”
What do you treasure?
Sometimes these things aren’t as obvious as we think. For example, I have learned that something I treasure is peace. I don’t necessarily come right out and say that, but often the decisions I make are driven by a desire for peace. It’s the desire behind the desire.
Here is the thing: even though it may be a relatively good thing, if the thing you treasure isn’t a “heavenly treasure” then we need to reorder our priorities.
My wording is kinder than the way the ECNT explains this verse.
Essentially, it is saying that we need to make a complete break from finding value in the treasures of this world and instead find treasure in the things of heaven.1
“So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light.”
The word used here for “healthy” can also mean “clear,” which the ECNT describes this way:
“…The idea is that the eye is the source of light for the body, and if that eye is sound, the entire body will be full of light. Then ‘healthy,’ which is more an ethical term than a physiological term, points especially to the meaning ‘singleness of purpose,’ ‘wholly dedicated’ to God along with a ‘generosity’ of heart.”2
Be fully dedicated to Kingdom living. Have a single purpose: to live for that which is eternal, not that which is temporary.
I had to laugh because I didn’t have to go far to find a good illustration of this. Even while writing this devotional, I found myself unable to stay focused on the task at hand. I’m not talking about interruptions that required my attention. My mind simply kept drifting to other desires.
“No one can serve two masters.”
Are you catching a theme yet?
Our first point talked about making “a complete break from the treasures of this world.” Our second point talked about “singleness of purpose” and being “wholly dedicated” to God.
Now Jesus tells us that it is impossible to serve two masters. You cannot give total allegiance to two things.3 You can give divided allegiance to multiple things, but that is not what we are called to. We are called to complete allegiance and devotion to God alone. That is the primary focus of this passage.
“The major point is undivided commitment to God; nothing should interrupt a complete centering on Him.”4
But why? Why should we give our complete, undivided devotion to God?
I can think of two reasons.
First, because He commands it of us. Matthew 22:37 says:
“Jesus replied: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’”
Second, because He is worthy.
Scripture is full of reasons God is worthy to be praised. In fact, an abundance of the music we sing — which is rooted in Scripture — centers on praising God.
Below are just a few snippets of God’s glory that we will sing about this week:
How Great Is Our God
“And age to age He stands
And time is in His hands”
“The Godhead three in one”
Crown Him With Many Crowns
“Crown Him the Lord of life
Who triumphed o’er the grave”
“Crown Him the Lord of love
Behold His hands and side
Rich wounds yet visible above
In beauty glorified”
So, back to our original question: “Who or What Is First in Your Life?”
The way we figure this out is by figuring out what has our heart, because that is where our treasure is.
Bob Kauflin, in his book Worship Matters, gives us some ways to figure out what has our heart:
“By looking at your life outside Sunday morning. What do you enjoy the most? What do you spend the most time doing? Where does your mind drift when you don’t have anything to do? What are you passionate about? What do you spend your money on? What makes you angry when you don’t get it? What do you feel depressed without? What do you fear losing the most?… The answers to those questions will lead us straight to the god or gods we love and worship.”5
Spend some time this week wrestling with those questions and evaluating what ‘treasures’ may have taken hold of your heart.
Adam
- Grant R. Osborne, Matthew, Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2010), page 341 ↩︎
- Osborne, Matthew, page 341 ↩︎
- Osborne, Matthew, page 342 ↩︎
- Osborne, Matthew, page 342 ↩︎
- Worship Matters: Leading Others to Encounter the Greatness of God (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2008), page 26 ↩︎