God first

Forgive the larger than lately post, it’s been a while, so consider it six posts in one…or something like that. Hey, sue me…I’ve been busy.

Isn’t that how it always is: we get really busy and what’s the first thing we cut out of our lives in order to make some extra time? We cut out reading the Bible, prayer, service, or even church; not intentionally, but since we’re not giving first to the Lord, we end up giving second…then later…then last…then, tomorrow….then, not at all.

Then we say, “I’ve been really busy,” or “I just haven’t had the time lately,” then “I’ve never murdered anyone, I’m a good person.” Yes, we are busy, time is short, and we are not Satan himself, but those are traps.

Since we are to love God first and most above all things, and our relationship with God affects our eternal soul, on a list of priorities He should be at the very top of the list…written in LARGE letters across the first three slots…with the next three slots left blank for emphasis, because nothing comes close. So, worldly obligation and earthly time are not sufficient reasons to…um…dis God.

But, if you let God fall off your list of priorities (out of mind, out of heart, out of life), it’s no big deal, right; after all, it’s not like you’ve ever murdered anyone, you’re a good person. Hmm, I don’t know about the rest of you, but this sounds familiar to me, “You will not surely die” (Genesis 3:4). When we discard God’s will/standard in favor of our own, we end up destroyed in a flood along with all the others who gave themselves over to the world.

Now, I’m not saying that if you “Come into the ark” with God as He commanded that life is gonna be a bowl of cherries. I’m sure it was an extremely arduous task living in the ark for an entire year with all those animals, tossed about on the waves, waiting for God to unfold yet another miracle. Wow, that must have been Hell…uh no, not quite…not even close. While I’m sure it may have seemed impossibly difficult to Noah and his family, an objective analysis tells us it was no doubt easier than treading water for a year.

Anyway, I have read through Genesis 11. From a father’s point of view, I guess it’s important to note that Noah was the father and spiritual leader of his family, humbly and faithfully following the Lord. Noah put God first, he married a woman who put God first, he raised children to put God first (and they did), and his sons obviously married wives that put God first. That’s how I want to do it.

They were different from those around them, and if they weren’t already ridiculed for their beliefs, they were definitely ridiculed for building the ark. In the end, their faith found favor with God and when judgment came, they were given what no one else was: life.