The story is told of an old married couple. Married for many years, she wondered if he still loved her as he did in years past. He knew she loved him for she said it regularly and offered him respect as her husband. One day, she shyly, curiously asked, “Honey, do you still love me like you did when we first married?’ Her husband replied, “I told you I loved you the day I married you. If anything changes, I’ll let you know.”
It’s a chuckle, but this husband’s priorities were perhaps a little misplaced (or perhaps quite far off). Most women want to hear “I love you” often and regularly. Just one statement that would take less than 10 seconds daily would have removed the wife’s question from her mind.
What does this have to do with priorities? Everything! Our actions, our words, and what we spend time thinking about all reflect our priorities. Our treasure, talents, and time reveal our deepest priorities and these come out in many ways.
First, our treasures reveal our priorities. There was a man who was terminally ill. He had a young daughter who spent much of her free time playing in her father’s bedroom, though she didn’t understand why he spent so much time in bed. One day, some former colleagues came to see her father and said their final goodbyes. Observing this, the daughter asked her father, “Daddy, are you going somewhere?” He replied, ” Yes dear, and you won’t be seeing me any more.” She responded, “Well, do you have a nice house and friends where you are going?” Her father, weeping, turned away from her and responded, “I’ve built my fine house here, but I’ll be a pauper there….” A man can die with upwards of a million and never send anything upwards.
Our treasures: where we spend our money and resources are an indicator of our priorities. Be certain our treasures reflect our deepest held beliefs, values, and who we love most. Jesus said “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also,” (Matthew 6:21). It comes to a matter of decisions. I believe a portion of all I earn goes to my faith community. I also believe I need to spend a portion of my resources and times on those I love. We all have obligations, things we need to save and plan for. However, if we don’t actively put first things first with our treasures, we can end up like the man in this story, coming to the end of our lives and realizing we never really spent our treasures on things that mattered. The next new iPhone, the upgraded car or house, these are perfectly fine in their place as long as they are not keeping us from prioritizing our treasures to put first things first. Jesus also said, “Seek first the kingdom of God and all these other things will be added to you.” (Matthew 6:33) God is not against us having things as long as the things don’t have us.
Our talents: Where we spend our talents is also an indicator of our priorities. We all have skills, gifts, and abilities. What am I doing with these talents to honor God and serve others? We often rush off into our days to use our skills to earn a paycheck and this is important and needful. Hopefully, our work is also a reflection of our desire to use our skills to serve God and others. Where and to whom are we taking time to use our skills not just for our own gain, but to bring our gifts to bear in an important cause? Organizational skills, great people skills, financial abilities, and the more obvious skills with music and sports: every one of these talents and more can be put to good use to serve. Eric Liddell who spent the majority of his life as a missionary to China, was also an Olympic athlete as a young man who won gold. He is quoted as saying, “I know God made me for China, but He also made me fast. When I run, I sense His pleasure.” When we are using our talents, our skills and abilities to serve others, we find a deep fulfillment that only comes through serving.
Our time: Lastly, how we spend our time is an important indicator of our priorities. Time is the only resource we have that we spend and then…. Poof! The time is gone. We can learn and improve new skills. We can earn more money. We can’t always get more time. A professor in a large class of college freshman wanted to impress upon them the importance of what they did with their time while in school. He brought in a large glass jar. In the jar, he first placed large rocks, filling it to the brim. He asked, “Is it full?” The student replied “yes.” He then pulled out some smaller rocks, filling in the gaps between the larger rocks and again asked, “Is it full?” Some of the students, catching on said, “No,” while others again said, “Yes.” He pulled out small pebbles, again filling in the small cracks between the large and medium rocks and again asked, “Is it full?” By now, most of the students were on to him, and said, “No.” He pulled out sand and filled in what was left of the empty spaces. One last time, the professor asked the students, “Is it full?” The students replied yes. The professor explained, “You will make many choices as to how to spend your time and it’s the one resource you can’t get back. Be certain to put the big priorities in your schedule first, followed by the smaller priorities. Let the small pebbles and things that are no more important than sand fill in around the things that matter most and you will come to the end of your college career satisfied that you spent your time well.”
The illustration is apt as the old soap opera used to say at the beginning, “Like sands through the hour glass, so are the days of our lives.” But we all have choices as to where and with whom we will spend our time. It is vital that we don’t waste it scrolling social media, watching TV, or pursuing only trivial pursuits. We need to spend our lives pursuing and proclaiming truth and justice, loving our families, friends, and neighbors, and letting everything else fill in around it. We all have the 24 hours each day. How will we use them? As a person of faith, I endeavor to spend a portion of the beginning of my day in prayer, meditation, and communion with God. Where I spend my first few hours of the day are an indicator as to what matters most to me. Do I pick up the phone first? Or do I spend some time in prayer first? The Psalmist wrote, “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” (Psalm 90:12). If we spend no time pursuing wisdom and spend all our time in other pursuits, we may be able to tell others the latest headline or the most recent joke that went through social media, but be completely unable to offer ourselves or others wisdom to help in time of need.
The wise prioritization of our treasure, talents, and time is one method to look back on our days and years with fulfillment and satisfaction. More importantly, we will arrive at our eternal destination knowing we have completed a job “well done” with no regrets. As a simple exercise, choose one of the above areas (treasure, talents, or time) and look at it honestly. How could you better prioritize the usage of the resources in that area? (A specific time for your faith expressions daily? Setting aside some money to go toward a cause you care about deeply? Getting involved to help your local community with your talents?) You can fill in the blank with whatever area you choose, but it will make a practical, positive difference in your own life’s satisfaction as well as the world around you.