Prioritize Your Life Properly

Photo by Peter Reed

Scripture: Luke 10:30-32

Jesus replied and said, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among robbers, and they stripped him and beat him, and went away leaving him half dead.  “And by chance a priest was going down on that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.  “Likewise a Levite also, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.

Insights: Today’s verses start the parable of the Good Samaritan.  In these first few verses we observe lives and the prioritization these individuals place on people and things.  Notice we have a priestly class which comes out of Aaron’s descendants (also a part of the the tribe of Levi) and a Levitical descendant as well.  The priestly class served as the mediators between God and man.  The Levitical line were the ones responsible for every other aspect of temple worship.  In other words, these individuals sang in the choir.  They were responsible for the fire wood.  They were responsible for the order, cleanliness and maintenance of the temple.  Both of these individuals were to be representative of people in a right relationship with God.  If these individuals truly had prioritized their lives, then they would have stopped and shown mercy to the Samaritan man.  What actually happened was two men too busy to show compassion.  Some believe they were probably on their way to the temple for a worship service, but were running late.  These individuals may have felt to stop would have hindered the worship service.  In fact, the priest would not have been able to serve as an intercessor if he had touched the man because he would have been considered to be unclean.  He would have had to stay out of the worship service for a period of time and he may have rationalized his avoidance of the injured man.  Beloved, the point is that whatever excuse these men made, they were wrong for not having proper priorities.  This Samaritan’s life was worth far more than their excuses.  This day, let us be mindful of God’s activities in this world and let us prioritize our lives in such a way God is brought honor.

Questions:

1. Have you ever prioritized your life by writing down your key areas of focus and emphasis?

2. If you have done this exercise, what did you learn about yourself?

Prayer: Father, forgive me when I do not make you the proper priority in my life.  Help me to live life from a Christ-centered perspective and may my right relationship with You impact all of my other relationships.    Amen.

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