The danger of
misplacing your priorities
“But seek first his
kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as
well.” - Matthew 6:33
Dr. George Sweeting
recounted a time when he and his family took a trip to Niagara Falls. It was
spring, and huge blocks of ice were rushing down the river, making their way to
the falls. Frozen inside the blocks were carcasses of dead fish.
Swarms of gulls were
riding down the river on the blocks feeding on the dead fish. As they came to
the brink of the falls, their wings would go out and they would fly away,
narrowly escaping an imminent death.
Dr. Sweeting then
observed,
“I watched one gull
which seemed to delay and wondered when it would leave. It was engrossed in the
carcass of a fish, and when it finally came to the brink of the falls, out went
its powerful wings. The bird flapped and flapped and even lifted the ice out of
the water, and I thought it would escape. But it had delayed too long so that
its claws had frozen into the ice. The weight of the ice was too great, and the
gull plunged into the abyss.”
The most appealing
things in the world turn deadly when we become too attached to them. That’s
because when we hold onto something so tightly that we refuse to let it go,
that thing becomes our idol and surpasses God in our hearts.
Don’t let the things
you love destroy you. Release what needs to be released for the sake of your
relationship with God. Enjoy the good things in life, but always remember to
keep your priorities in line!
Prayer Challenge
Ask God to show you
where you’ve compromised your priorities and pray He’d
help you keep them in line.
Questions for Thought
Why do you think the
things of the world often seem more appealing than the things of God?