BUT FIRST…
“So why do you keep calling Me ‘Lord, Lord!’ when you don’t do what I say?” Luke 6:46
James Clear, author of Atomic Habits said, "Working harder on the wrong thing just wastes more time." How rude of him to say that! I will ask you the same question I asked myself when I read that statement. Are you trying to appear busy so you can avoid doing what God has told you to do next?
Each part of that question is important. It isn't as simple as, are you trying to appear busy so that you can avoid doing what God has told you to do? But, are you trying to appear busy so that you can avoid doing what God has told you to do NEXT?
If you are like me, and I’m pretty certain that some of you are, you are doing some things that God has told you to do. But are there some other things that He has told you to do FIRST that you are SKIPPING OVER in order to get to the things that aren’t quite so uncomfortable or challenging?
A passage of Scripture in the Sermon on the Mount is very interesting. It says, “So, if you are presenting a sacrifice at the altar in the Temple and you suddenly remember that someone has something against you, leave your sacrifice there at the altar. Go and be reconciled to that person. Then come and offer your sacrifice to God” (Matthew 5:23-24).
Human reasoning would say that presenting a sacrifice at the altar is a pretty big act of obedience. But Jesus says that an act of obedience can actually become an act of disobedience if you skipped over what you were told to do prior.
In other words, you don’t get to pick and choose which of God’s commands you are going to obey and you ALSO don’t get to decide which order you are going to do them in. His commands aren’t like a to-do list where you check the easy things off first to give yourself some sense of accomplishment.
I know this is hard, but I’m preaching to myself. If anyone else wants to listen to what God is telling me they are welcome to.
I know I have done the little "to-do list check-off" with God way too many times. I want to look and feel like I'm being obedient, or like I’m busy for the Lord, when in reality I'm doing something of very little priority in order to avoid that very uncomfortable thing I know He has already told me to do.
Some of you haven’t even been baptized and that is the very first act of obedience He requires after salvation. Many of you have someone you need to ask to forgive you. I know doing that is hard, but life will be so much easier after you do it. Some of you need to tithe and you need to do it before you find out how much is left after you pay the bills. The order of things is important.
What has He told you to do next? It really doesn't matter what you are doing if you are skipping over something that God has already told you to do in order to do it.
