priorities

In this brief series, we’re exploring if it’s possible to have priorities. (Here’s last week’s post.) I know, it may sound like a no-brainer because most people, whether they’ve drawn up a formal list, could cite what they consider to be the most important matters in their lives.

But a comment by organizational specialist Greg McKeown sparked my interest in this topic. In his blog, he made the following comment,

“When the word priority came into the English language in the 1400s, it was singular. Think for a moment: What did it mean? The answer is the prior or very first thing. What’s interesting is it stayed singular for the next 500 years. It wasn’t until the 1900s that we came up with the pluralized term and started using the word priorities. But what exactly does the word mean? Can there be multiple very first things?”

McKeown wasn’t making a grammatical critique about a popular word. Instead, he implied that the center of our lives has logical room for only one main thing. Not two or three or ten; just one. If we base our decisions on more than a single top concern, we run the risk of confusing ourselves when these issues compete with each other.

Can we use the Bible to settle this matter? It would seem not, since neither “priority,” “priorities,” or “prioritize” occurs in any major translation, including the ESV, KJV, NASB, NIV, NKJV, NLT, and RSV. I did manage to track down one verse in the NET (New English Translation):

“May my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth, if I do not remember you, and do not give Jerusalem priority over whatever gives me the most joy.” – Psalm 137:6

That’s all I could find!

So we shouldn’t use the Bible to help us with this question? That would be odd, considering how lives Word stresses that we honor the Lord:

“As for other matters, brothers and sisters, we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more.” – 1 Thessalonians 4:1

Based on this verse, the priority of our lives should be to please the Lord. The English words may be missing from the pages of Scripture, but the concept of prioritizing isn’t. I identified four passages in the NASB, so let’s see what they are and how they relate to the topic.

“The beginning of wisdom is: Acquire wisdom; and with all your acquiring, get understanding.” – Proverbs 4:7

An alternative translation of the opening phrase is “The primary thing is wisdom.” The Hebrew word is reshiyth and means “first, beginning, best, chief.”

This verse highlights the value of wisdom above material wealth. In part, this is because it usually takes skill and insight to be able to earn a decent living and accumulate worthwhile assets. But more than that, Solomon (the author of Proverbs) wanted to distinguish wisdom from all other natural resources. In our terms, he would say that wisdom should be our priority.

“The commander answered, ‘I acquired this citizenship with a large sum of money.’ And Paul said, ‘But I was actually born a citizen.’” – Acts 22:28

The phrase “sum of money” is actually a single Greek word, kephalion, and has a variety of meanings, including the “chief or main point, the principal thing; the pecuniary sum total of a reckoning, amount; the principal, capital, as distinguished from the interest; a sum of money, sum.”

The context here is that Paul and a Roman commander were discussing how each obtained his citizenship in the Empire. While Paul was born into it, the soldier had to buy his.

A large sum of money represents years of work and diligent effort to accumulate. In a way, it’s a number that shows how dedicated you are to something. In the case of the commander, his goal was citizenship.

What do we invest our time collecting, and for what purpose? Whatever it is, you can say that it’s our priority.

This Greek word kephalion occurs only here and in Hebrews 8:1.

“Now the main point in what has been said is this: we have such a high priest, who has taken His seat at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, ²a minister in the sanctuary and in the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, not man.” – Hebrews 8:1-2

In the midst of extended commentary about the superiority of Jesus over the Old Testament system of priests and sacrifices, the writer gets to his  “main point” which is that Jesus is our high priest. Israel had an entire tribe dedicated to the priesthood, the tribe of Levi, because those serving would die and would have to be replaced.

But Jesus lives forever, so His priestly ministry of intercession never comes to an end.

This goes to the heart of the gospel; you could say that Christ’s status as high priest was the writer’s priority!

And here’s the final passage of Scripture:

“He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything.” – Colossians 1:18

The phrase “first place” is proteuo and means “to be first, hold the first place.” It occurs only here in the entire Greek New Testament. Paul wanted Christians to know that despite how messed up the world is at present, it will one day come into order, balance, and harmony. Everything will be right. How? By honoring Jesus with priority; by recognizing Him as the One who occupies first place in the universe.

But Paul doesn’t stop there. This verse contains four references to Christ’s supremacy: head (kephale), beginning (arche), firstborn (prototokos) and first place (proteuo). Jesus rules the church. He started the first creation and He’s the cause of the second, the resurrection. Paul can’t stress enough how Jesus is God’s priority. And since Christ is the centerpiece of God’s plans, shouldn’t we prioritize Him, too?

We see the idea of prioritizing in these four passages. Wisdom, a payment, a main point, and first place–all these are priorities according to God’s Word. We can make two conclusions.

1. Priorities are possible. Yes, we can have more than one priority. Since we have many aspects to our lives, we can determine at least one guiding principle for each of them.
2. Jesus is The Priority. Paul announces that the Lord Jesus Christ will come to have first place in everything. And while that promise awaits fulfillment, we don’t have to delay. We can organize our lives around Him. The more we grant Jesus primacy, the more God will bless us.

The Bible teaches us that it’s possible to have priorities but that all should come under the authority and supervision of Christ. When we establish our priorities, let’s make sure that we submit them to Jesus.

Because Jesus is Lord!