Getting Your Priorities Right
Pastor Bill Nichols - January 24, 2010Introduction
Does anyone here today make it a daily practice of writing down the things they need to accomplish, and then take the time to prioritize the list so as to insure that the most important things get done?
We are a people who are easily distracted by the seemingly endless urgent things that come up in our day to day lives. And because we jump up like a fireman and rush to take care of the urgent things that pop up, we sometimes either do not accomplish that which is most important, or we do not do as good a job on that which is most important. When this happens, we sometimes become frustrated and sometimes we feel that we are a failure in that particular area of our lives.
I have a small booklet that I keep on my desk titled The Tyranny of the Urgent by Charles E. Hummel. In it the author quotes a cotton mill manager that told him "Your greatest danger is letting the urgent things crowd out the important." I do not know about you, but I struggle with this. Its easy for me to get sidetracked by urgent issues and then I get behind and struggle to get done that which is most important. Things like sermon study and preparation and visitation.
As Christians, what would you say are some of the important things that you should be doing, and what are the urgent things that come up in your lives that keep you from doing that which is most important?
Wait for Responses: Some might be:
- Telling others about Jesus: (The Great Commission)
- Studying the Bible: (Becoming a mature Christian)
- Prayer: (Communication with God)
- Worship: (Fellowship with God)
- Loving God and Loving Others: (Second Greatest Commandments)
- Others
In Matthew 5:23-26 (New International Version) Jesus teaches us an important lesson that contrasts that which is important to that which is urgent:
"Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift. "Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still with him on the way, or he may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. I tell you the truth, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny."
Last week we saw how Jesus addressed the inner attitude of the heart when it comes to relationships with other people. The religious elite were self righteous because they kept the letter of the law. Jesus challenged both these leaders and the crowds to a higher form of righteousness by equating anger, slander and cursing to murder. We saw that we as humans cannot attain to the righteousness that God desires of His kingdom people except through the forgiveness that we find through faith in Jesus.
Today we will look at two responses that we should have in our lives when we find that we harbor these feelings in our hearts towards other people.
I. Reconciliation Trumps Worship!
In verses 23 and 24 Jesus says something that seems pretty astounding to me. He says that reconciliation is more important than worship.
Lets take a short aside back to Genesis 4:3-5. Here we see the first use of the word offering. The word used here has the reference to a present or a sacrifice and basically means a sacrificial offering. It is my belief that in the absence of any formal ceremonial practice that these offerings were in essence their act of worship. Notice also that God was concerned more with the attitude of the heart of the one who offered the sacrifice, (or worship), than he was with the offering that was made.
In application to our passage today we have a couple of options that I feel are both valid.
Some would simply say that it is hypocritical and an affront to God when you come to church to worship Him, yet you have an estranged relationship with someone; a fellow Christian, a family member, an acquaintance, etc. The estrangement could be because of your attitude toward them, or it could be their attitude toward you, but either way, things are not right between you.
Other people like to make this passage more specific based on the mention of the altar, and would apply it to the taking of communion. They would ask, how can you come to the table (altar) and receive the elements that represent the sacrifice that Jesus made on your behalf for the forgiveness of your sin, and knowing that someone is holding something against you, or that you are harboring something against them?
What does Jesus say? Go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift. Reconciliation comes before worship. How many of us have someone that we are not talking to because of something either we or they have said or done? Go and be reconciled.
Now let me interject a quick disclaimer here. If you go and try to make reconciliation, there is no guarantee that the other person will accept your apology or forgiveness. But Jesus here seems to indicate that you as a kingdom person should be the one to make the first move, and then your worship will be acceptable to Him.
II. Do Not Let Disputes Get Out of Hand.
Next Jesus addresses disputes with an adversary who is at the point of taking you to court. Some believe that the previous passage deals with issues between Christians and that this passage deals with disputes between a Christian and an unbeliever. (Of course when Jesus was teaching this, He was addressing Jews and the church had not yet been established.) I think it probably applies to all people who's dispute has elevated to the point where the courts are about to get involved.
My own take on this seems to indicate that the adversary has a legitimate claim against you because in the context the inference is that you will be found guilty and be thrown in prison.
Another thing that would lead me to that conclusion is that these two verses in particular represent the state that we find ourselves in before God as sinners in need of reconciliation. Turn with me to Revelation 20:11-15 (New International Version):
The Dead Are Judged
Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
Conclusion
Taken together, these two lessons that Jesus taught the crowd that had gathered on the mountain, and the lessons that we are to learn today are:
- Kingdom people make reconciliation with their fellow man such a priority in their lives that they will seek to mend strained relationships even before they come to worship their God.
- Those who are not yet kingdom people will seek to be reconciled to God before they finding themselves standing before Him as judge at the Great White Throne judgment.
I guess you can boil it all down once again to Jesus teaching that the two most important commandments are to love God and to love your neighbor as yourself.
What are your priorities? Have you made peace with God by accepting the forgiveness of sin that He offers through faith in His Son Jesus? Is your worship acceptable to God based on your relationships with other people?