I am a 100% type “A” personality. I desperately try to hide it with a friendly demeanor, a warm smile, and even some comfy blue jeans, but when it comes down to it, a well executed checklist and a well pressed white shirt make me feel the most comfortable and relaxed. Don’t get me wrong! I am passionate about people, and I love time alone with God, but on a daily basis, it’s that checklist constantly stepping off the hourly paces that never stops clicking in the back of my mind. Proper balancing my life between taking time to listen to God, loving and serving others, and getting through my daily list has always been a huge challenge for me.
God created each of us with specific personalities to accomplish His plan. Some are feet, some arms, some eyes, some ears; but I’m sure, regardless of your personality type, we each face a constant struggle when it comes to prioritizing our time with God, love of people, and getting things done. When it comes to ordering our daily lives, Jesus lived out several examples for us to follow. We often find ourselves getting things out of order during the pressures of life. Let’s take a quick look at the examples Jesus gave us. To help us remember Jesus’ example, let’s use three familiar letters in the past months (P.P.E.).
Pray, People, Execute
Jesus left no doubt that his relationship with the Father and the Holy Spirit were at the top of his daily priorities. In Mark 6:31 we see Jesus calling a “timeout” right in the middle of a needy crowd.
There were tasks to be done and people in need constantly surrounding Jesus, yet his example was to pull away for time with his Father and the Holy Spirit. Even the dead daughter of Jarius had to take a back seat while Jesus obeyed the direction of the Holy Spirit prior to raising her from the dead. (Mark 5:21-22).
Jesus’ example also teaches us to serve people prior to our own “to do” list. A brief visit to the story of Mary and Martha reveals the importance Christians should place on spending time with people. While visiting the home of Martha we find Jesus sharing time and talking with Mary. Martha is in the next room preparing food and scurrying around trying to get through her hospitality checklist. We see an agitated Martha interrupt the pleasant conversation between Mary and Jesus. Martha begrudgingly asked Jesus to remind Mary that she was being a bit of a slacker by not helping Mary host their house guest. Jesus’ reply is stunningly simple when he tells the hard working Martha that Mary has the right idea. Mary had chosen to spend this time with their guest building a relationship as a priority. Jesus wants us to build relationships with people and calls us both by word and example to take our focus off of our intense plans and schedules. His example clearly prioritizes people over the execution of our own agenda.
Remember (PPE) as your day gets flooded with living life. The order God calls our lives to is simple:
Prayer = time with God
People = serve others
Execute = our plans after God and others
Eric Bowman
Eric is our associate pastor, working with outreach and youth ministry as well as adult discipleship and growth. Eric retired from a 28-year career in public education as a high school band director in 2019 and is now living his lifelong dream as a pastor. Eric and his wife, Diana, continue to live in Henry County where they have been lifetime residents. They "raised" three children and are now making their best attempt at "raising" themselves.