How Do You Get it All Done?

In Matthew chapter 6, Jesus challenges us to place Him and the things of God at the top of our priority lists:  33 "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. 34 "So do not worry about tomorrow ; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.  The Lord will direct us as we seek to structure solid priorities.  If we align what's important to us with what's important to Him, He will give us peace and clear direction in our lives - He will, indeed, direct our steps, as the Scriptures promise.   The starting point is to put Him at the top of our priority list - and we do that by surrendering our desires to Him, declaring our hearts to be willing to be obedient to Him, no matter what He calls us to do - and as we are committed to growing spiritually, that will affect the way we live our lives and relate to others wherever we are - at home with our families, with family members outside the home, in our friendships, our relationships with people at church, or in our work.   If Christ is at the center of it all, our priority list will flow from that.

In Philippians 3, the apostle Paul addresses placing Christ and a relationship with Him as the first priority in our lives:
(8) I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, 9 and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, 10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death...

Some comments have gone viral from an interview with one of the most powerful women in America, deemed so by Fortune magazine, which published a story about her recently.   Her name is Marissa Meyer, and she is the new CEO of media giant Yahoo!

She was asked by writer Patricia Sellers about how she gets it all done - for example, fixing Yahoo, transforming the culture, hiring new talent, caring for her newborn son…and more!   Mayer said that she "ruthlessly" prioritizes and went on to explain that she grew up in Wisconsin rooting for the Green Bay Packers. She cited Vince Lombardi's philosophy: "God, family, and the Green Bay Packers." Then she offered her own: "I think that for me, it's God, family and Yahoo—in that order."

And, it's those three words that have caught a lot of people's attention - number one story from Fortune on Facebook and LinkedIn last week.   And, while apparently faith is important to the 37-year-old Lutheran, she was also making a statement about where faith fits on the priorities list.

And, we need to think about priorities, especially this time of year, where our schedules begin to be chaotic and sometimes we are overwhelmed in the stress of the season.   And, it obviously shouldn't be that way - we need time to reflect and to refresh, to center our attention on God and the significance of His sending His Son to earth as the greatest gift of all.

This is an idea that noted health and nutrition expert Pam Smith furthered on my radio show this week.   It's an idea that I elaborated on in my most recent column for River Region's Journey, magazine, in which I gave some ideas for observing Advent - spending some time on a regular, intentional basis to honor the One who has come to take away our sins.    And, there are plenty of ways to do that, from sitting down as a family once a week and engaging in an Advent devotional, to observing some sort of Advent activity during each of the 25 days of December leading up to Christmas Day.   

As we attempt to keep our relationship with Christ in its proper position on our priority list, it's so vital that we make room for Him, that we take time for Him, and make it an ambition to stay connected.   If Jesus is our #1 priority, then He will help us to structure the rest of our priority list.   In the corporate world of Marissa Mayer, that list is "God, family, and Yahoo! - in that order."   It calls to mind an old acronym for JOY goes: Jesus, Others, and You.   Placing Jesus first, especially in this season when we celebrate His birth, can give us the peace and strength we need to carry on.