The Highest Priority
28. And one of the Scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that He had answered them well, asked Him, “Which is the first commandment of all?”
29. And Jesus answered him, “The first of all commandments is, Here O Israel; The Lord our God is One Lord:”
30. “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength: this is the first commandment.”
31. “And the second is like, namely this, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is none other commandment greater than these.”
Mark 12:28-31
People who live true to the highest priority not only achieve their goal, but they also live to please God.
What is Most Important
How would you rate a priority? What would be the criteria for saying whether something was important? Here are a couple of strong suggestions. If it is something that your life depends on, I would say it is a priority. If you lose it you would suffer greatly, I would say that it is a priority. If it is necessary for your success in life, I would say that it is a priority.
Sometimes we pick the wrong priorities. Sometimes the priorities we pick are harmful. Sometimes the priorities end up being dead end endeavors. Wrong priorities will lead you to the wrong place, have you performing the wrong work, and cost you a great deal of time. So, back to our question – What is a good priority?
This is an urgent issue for several reasons. First, we live in an age of deception where words are twisted, motives are questioned, and even Truth itself is doubted. In these deceptive times, people are making false claims in order to gain wealth, prestige, or to get a name for themselves. Jesus warned that these times would come upon the world. When the Disciples asked, “Lord, what will be the sign of Your return and of the end of the world,” He responded, “Take heed that you are not deceived.” It is not simply the deception of the world around us and the people around us, it is possible for us to deceive ourselves. But those who live based on a set of priorities will know when something is pulling them off course. They will detect when misinformation has been introduced. Those who know the Truth will also walk in it.
Not only is the threat of deception reason to live by priorities, but we also face distractions. The world has become busier than ever. Now, the smartphone has brought the world of information to your fingertips. You can easily be distracted to think that something is important because it shows up in your inbox, or as a headline, or someone sends it as a post to your Instagram or Facebook account. Just because it may be “newsy” does not mean that it is important. Living based on set priorities will keep you from being swept from pillar to post with every change of the wind and every message that flashes at you. Remember this please. Most of the news feeds and information that shows up on your smartphone is only to get you to buy something, join something, or try something. In every case, it is designed to get something from you. God gives His priorities to give something to your life so you can share with others. Mark this well, you don’t get anything from the world without a cost.
Then, there is a third factor that forces us to have priorities in life. Not only are we facing distractions and deceptions in our lives, but we also face distress. When distress attacks people, they retreat from their priorities and choose to be safe over everything else in life. This COVID pandemic was one source of distress. Now we have reached a point where COVIDity is dominating our lives. People don’t do certain things because they are afraid they will catch COVID. That is COVIDity. Can’t go to Church because we might catch COVID. That is COVIDity. Can’t watch it online either because it upsets me that I can’t meet in person. That is COVIDity. Granted, there are certain precautions that must be taken, but at the same time, Jesus has called us to be His witnesses despite the challenges of distress. This brings us to the heart of our text. We need a priority that will keep us despite the distractions, despite the deceptions, and in spite of all the distresses of life. While other things may impact us, it is critical that we have life priorities.
Therefore, Jesus gave us our life priority when He answered the scribe who was searching to know the Truth. Jesus said, “you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart … all your soul … all your mind, and with all your strength: this is the first commandment” … “And the second is like … you shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is none other commandment greater than these.” Jesus established the Love of God as the highest priority in life. It is the Love for God and the Love from God to others that should take up our time, our money, and our devotion. Nothing is greater than Love.
Why is Love the Highest Priority
Love is the highest priority in all the universe because God is Love. The scribe who asked Jesus the question even commented that there was nothing else that mattered as much as loving God and loving others. In his search of the Commandments, he realized that the entire Law could be summed up as loving God and loving others.
First, it is a matter of mathematics. It just adds up to be a priority. Notice the Word of Jesus: you shall love the Lord your God with all. When you love God with all, that means there is nothing less to be used for anything else. So, the priority ends up becoming a matter of mathematics. All minus All equals nothing else. All would be your time. All would be your energy. All would be your emotions. All would be your intelligence, your dreams, your aspirations, your everything. You must be “All In” with God. You can’t give Him half and expect the other half to work. An example of the All In would be the Three Hebrews. I know we use them all the time, but they as well as Daniel and others, serve as classic examples of those who were All In. Long story short. The king of Babylon had a standing decree that everyone would bow down to his golden idol. But Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were All IN with God. They had given God everything so there was nothing left for the king’s idol, and they let the king know that. Mathematically, they had nothing to give to any other god because Jehovah God had everything they had. Well, as the story unfolds, they were thrown into the fiery furnace for their faith. Yet, living for God was their highest priority because of the All IN principle. When they were All In with God, God was All In with them. This mathematical principle was proven in the fiery furnace itself. Because God showed up in the furnace as the “Fourth Man.” Because the Three Hebrews made God their Highest Priority, God made them His Highest Priority and decided He would add to their All. That is how the it works mathematically. You and Jesus make a majority: it does not matter who is against you as long as Jesus is with you.
Second, it is a matter of pragmatics. It just works that way. When you love God with everything you have, something happens to your life. Your life takes on a whole new meaning and you start living for a whole new purpose. That is called Kingdom priorities. The whole goal of life is to give God everything you have because you love him with everything. Abraham serves as our example of Kingdom priority. Abraham received a call from God to leave everything and go to the land of Canaan. He went to that land on nothing but a promise from God and walked by faith. God promised him that he would be a father of many nations. Again, Abraham made God his highest priority and God blessed him with a son in his old age. Then God said to Abraham, “sacrifice your son.” Abraham made God’s priority his highest honor and went to Mount Moriah to offer Isaac because he loved God as a matter of practice and not just talk. God said, “Now I know that you love me because you have not withheld even your son.” There are a lot of people that say they love God, but don’t ask them to back it up. They say they love everybody, which is the second part of that commandment, but don’t ask them to back it up because they will back up. When you love God with all you have it becomes a reality when you demonstrate that love with action. Remember, the practical thing is to love God and also love your neighbor with that same love. That is the highest priority.
Third, it is a matter of pneumatics. Yes, loving God and loving others becomes a matter of pneumatics or something that is powered by the Breath of God. The ‘pneuma’ means wind or breath. When you love God with all, that means you have given Him your all. We all know that God first gave to us and then we give back to Him. When you give God your all, God becomes the sole source of your life. As His gift for you giving your gift, God gives the Holy Spirit to all believers. It is not humans doing the work but the Work of the Holy Spirit working inside of us. When you release the Love of God, it is no longer dependent on human effort. It’s all God. Here is the way the equation works. If you have given God all, God takes your all and adds His Power and the result is greater is He who is in you than He that is in the world. The priority has now become the reality of Christ in you. The words are not just your words, but God’s Word. The motivation is not you being motivated, but the Holy Spirit moving in you. Now the priority of life is the Life of the Spirit.
It is only through the demonstration of the Holy Spirit’s Power that we are able to love God with all we have and to love others as ourselves. Without the Holy Spirit we don’t have the ability to serve in that capacity. The Church of God needs to pay attention and realize the opportunity to love and serve God is still open to us. Don’t get swept into this ideology “there is nothing we can do.” Yes you can do something. You can love God and love others through the Holy Spirit.
I close by using David as an example of someone who loved God with all His heart and was empowered by the Holy Spirit. Young David came out to visit his brothers on the battlefront. While there he heard the giant Goliath taunting the Army of Israel. The more he listened the more he wanted to defend God’s honor as well as fight for his nation. David knew he was anointed but did not know the full extent of that anointing of God. He knew He loved God with all and was All IN but did not know how everything worked. He was even told; you are too young, and you are outsized. David did not listen to the outer voice of opinions, he listened to the inner voice of priority. As the giant and David faced off, David said something that demonstrated his belief in the Pneuma of God. He said to the giant, “you come against me with sword and spear, but I come against you in the Name of the Lord of Hosts.” David had the assurance of Power because he relied on God for strength.
That same power is available today when we make loving God and loving others our highest priority. This power is not available for spectators. This power is not available for those who are seeking a name for themselves. This Holy Spirit power is only available to those who love the Lord and are All IN when it comes to Kingdom living. Are you All IN?