Getting Our Priorities Straight

He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it.

Matthew 10:37-39

When it comes to following Christ, our loyalty cannot be divided. Jesus makes this perfectly clear is our passage today. If we love our parents (father and mother) more than Christ, Jesus says that we are “not worthy of Him.” If we love our children more that Jesus, He says that we are “not worthy of Him.” And if we are not willing to take up our cross (enduring persecution, scorn, and ridicule from the world), then we are “not worthy of HIm.” Jesus says, “he who has found his life will lose it.” This means that if we live our lives in such a way as to claim rights over our own lives to live them the way that we want, pursuing what we want, doing what we want, believing what we want, and essentially, chasing after the world, then we will lose everything that we have and eternally, our soul (Luke 9:25). But if we lose this earthly life “for His sake,” for the sake of the gospel, for the sake of the kingdom of God (which is eternal), it is at that point that we will find our lives. 

This principle can be applied to the pursuit of anything in this world, but Jesus specifically applies it to the pursuit of money. Consider His words:

No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.

  Matthew 6:24

Being a Christian means, in part, that we are willing to prioritize Him and what He desires for our lives above our own desires and those of the people around us. Pleasing our parents cannot become more important than pleasing God. Our devotion to our children cannot become more important than our devotion to Christ. But in this discussion, what is often left unsaid is this…when we make our devotion to Christ top priority in our lives, we become “superior” parents, “superior” children, “superior” spouses,  and so forth. Everything becomes better when Christ is at the center of our lives. Just like the broken who encountered Jesus during His earthly ministry, we will not be left unchanged when we spiritually encounter Him in our lives today. And the change that He brings will make everything else in this world pale in comparison to knowing and following Him.

Often though, what we see today is worldly success at the center of our lives with an expectation that God will continue to bless us as we do what we want apart from any consideration of His will. This is at the heart of much of the modern mindset today. Some dismiss God completely but for those who desire to “hold onto God” as some fire insurance policy (I can have everything now on my own terms and still go to heaven), for those people, their mindset can become a mixture of worldly pursuit and godliness at the same time. Of course Jesus’ words dispel that notion entirely. But many religious people (void of the study of scripture) can fall into this trap. Without knowing the words of Jesus, they simply cannot put those truths into practice. This is the tragedy of a life void of biblical teaching. 

But what it really all boils down to is whether we are willing to surrender our lives to Jesus. At the heart of Jesus’ declaration, in today’s passage, is a question of loyalty. It is a question of faith. In whom do we really trust? Ourselves? God? Without a true conversion (meeting the Person of Jesus personally), there will be an unwillingness to sacrifice everything for Him. It simply doesn’t make sense to expect someone to trust in and surrender everything over to someone in whom they don’t know. That is why obedience to Jesus’ instructions in this passage requires the prerequisite of being saved. An unbeliever will simply find all of this foolishness (1 Corinthians 1:18, 2:14). Nevertheless, holding on to what we cannot keep and missing out on eternal blessings is shortsighted at best.

A parallel passage to this is Luke 14:26. Compared to this verse, we might refer to the Matthew passage as the “softer” of the two but the message is still the same. We would do well to understand and apply to our lives the truth that Jesus is teaching us. When it comes to being a follower of Christ, no one or nothing can take priority above our loyalty to Him. Worldly success, material wealth, family, fun times, sports, vacations, hobbies, or anything else we might deem important…nothing can rise to the level of top priority if we are going to say that we have been saved and are now serving Christ with our lives. 

So who and what do we order our lives around? Whatever the answer, that is our god (little g). The way we spend our time and our money, including what draws our greatest devotion is who or what we serve. Despite what the culture, modern Christianity, and religion says, we cannot serve the Lord Jesus Christ if we are not willing to forsake everything else. That is simply what God expects from us, no more and no less. Our complete devotion to Him over and above family, success, wealth, and self-gratification is required for the one who desires to follow Christ. 

Perhaps this is the reason why so many people avoid committing their lives to Jesus. Perhaps this is the reason why so many people avoid scripture and would rather replace the truth with religious motion or a doctrine of they own making. Both of those things do not require such sacrifice. People often want to live life on their own terms, pursuing what they want and, at the same time, hold to the idea that they are living in harmony with the Lord. Jesus’ remarks make it impossible for us to hold this view. At some point, we will make a decision determining who and what we will serve and tragically, many will choose their own way.

But having said all of this, when we do surrender our lives to Jesus and begin on that road of walking daily with Him, the rewards are far superior to any thrill we could get in this life. Walking in right relationship with God is nothing short of living “abundantly.” So while the rest of the world is troubled on every front, Christians, authentic born again believers in Jesus, can live in complete confidence, knowing that Jesus will accomplish everything that He promises in a life that is completely surrendered to Him!

…and He (Christ) died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf.

      2 Corinthians 5:15

For the eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His.

    2 Chronicles 16:9a