Making the Most of Your SummerSýnishorn

Have you ever heard someone remark, "Their priorities are really out of whack?"

I have heard business people, pastors, parents, and managers discuss the importance of paying attention to your priorities. Those comments have left me wondering how we can have multiple priorities.

Best-selling author Greg McKeown has researched the way we've changed how we talk about the word "priority." He shared, "The word priority came into the English language in the 1400s. It was singular. It meant the very first or prior thing. It stayed singular for the next five hundred years. Only in the 1900s did we pluralize the term and start talking about priorities." As technology changed how we lived, it became necessary to change how we talked about what was important, and the shift from priority to priorities resulted.

But, nearly two thousand years before that shift in the English language, Jesus made a simple and powerful statement while teaching what has become known as The Sermon on the Mount. In Matthew 6:33, Jesus says, "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."

Jesus talked about how we worry about everything in our lives, including what we drink, eat, wear, and our bodies. After resetting His audience's concern by talking about how God cares for birds and flowers, Jesus invites them to stop giving their energy to worry and start giving their energy to God and His Kingdom. The Greek word we translate as "first" is protos, from which we get the word "priority." Jesus wants seeking Him and His Kingdom to be our priority.

Remember the research I mentioned earlier? In Jesus' day, the mindset was, "You can only have one priority." In our modern technology-driven, multi-tasking world, we try to manage several priorities. But Jesus is not looking to be one of several things that matter most to us. He wants to be in an exclusive place that nothing and no one else holds. Then, and only then, can we see "all these things given to you as well."

If you're going to make the most of your summer, there are four elements you need to include in your plan. The first element is God. Your summer won't be the best it could be if you don't seek God first.

You might make lots of memories, take some amazing trips, watch great movies, and capture some amazing scenes to post about on social media. But, you will see important opportunities spoil and you'll miss out on incredible moments if you seek something or someone else first.

Consider what you will do in your relationship with God this summer.

Can you set aside protected time to be quiet before God? Can you commit to a plan and a place to read the Bible daily? Do you have anything you want to work on or learn about regarding what you believe or how you follow Jesus? Is there someone you want to pray for and share your faith with? Is there a book you've been wanting to read? Do you want to build a new habit of consistently attending your church's weekend services?

Before you close out the app today, I encourage you to identify at least one way that you will seek God and His Kingdom first this summer. Write it down, put it in a note on your phone, or share it with a friend so they can hold you accountable.

Tomorrow, we'll examine a surprising element of your summer plan. If you overlook this element, you might have difficulty embracing this season and all that God wants to do.