First Things First

Prepare your outside work,Make it fit for yourself in the field;And afterward build your house.

Proverbs 24:27 (NKJV)

The bottom line of this proverb is first things first. Necessities first, luxuries later. Good advice, especially for our generation. It seems that so many want it all, all at once and all of a sudden. Young people get the application for credit cards and start buying fun things before they even have a job. This leaves them in debt and always trying to catch up instead of getting ahead and saving.

Galileo once said, “I do not believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use.” Good advice!

This proverb is a good exhortation to get your own life and finances in order. Since we live in a society where instant gratification is king, seldom do we see people investing in being prepared spiritually, emotionally, or financially for marriage or ministry, starting their own business, or buying a house.

So if you feel that you have not been wise and your life is out of order, the first thing to do is to acknowledge it, and then ask the Lord to give you wisdom, guidance, and self-control. God is a God of order. If you ask him, he can help you reconstruct one step at a time.

D. L. Moody liked to say, “Work as if everything depended on you and pray as if everything depended on God.”

Make It Personal . . . Live It Out!

Personal responsibility, diligence, duty, steadfastness, and perseverance are great building blocks for life. Did you grow up in a home where you never saw these modeled? Join the club. But today, you get to choose. Small changes in important areas of life add up quickly. They build momentum. We become what we repeatedly do.

Let’s Pray

Lord, you see the areas where I need structure and order. Forgive me for being careless and foolish. Inspire and instruct me in making wise, responsible choices.

One Year Bible Reading

Jeremiah 8:8–9:26; Colossians 3:1-17; Psalm 78:32-55; Proverbs 24:27