With Jesus, everything is different. For He is the number one priority in life, the number one “idol” to be kept in our hearts and minds, with no image, other than His written and spoken Word, which is unseen. Nothing is greater than Him. Nothing could even come close.
That being said, living life in relationship with Christ can at times become a little, uhm, how should I say it, seemingly complex. Deciding how to order our priotities can be complex in application, but in reality, it is supposed to be simple.
Priorities in Christ should look like this, or something similar to this:
- God
- Family
- Others
- Self
This is the basic order of life as a practicing and abiding-in-the-Word Christian. If you are like me, I consult the Holy Spirit before every decision I take. So much so, that it’s almost stifling, because I know that our God is a jealous God, His Ways are not like ours AT ALL! I want to be led by Him, nothing else! I guard my thoughts and actions to not stray from Him and His perfect will for my life.
Worldly “wisdom” is, in fact, FOOLISHNESS to God! And the eternal, REAL, TRUE Wisdom of God seems like foolishness to God. It’s not about what you see, but many times it’s precisely about what you DON’T SEE that matters above everything else. Do not be deceived, everything not done in/for/with God will in fact be burned up at the end of the age, but that done in/for/with God will last forever. I’m after that which lasts forever. Eternal riches is the name of the game for me, ever since I’ve been reborn and awakened to the fact that God is the most important thing in life, and serving others along with it!
Work-Life Balance
I heard this term many times when I was in college. I didn’t know how real it was going to have to be in my life. There’s so much to be said for this, especially if you don’t like your work, or maybe even, on the other hand, if you don’t like your life’s personal time. You’ve heard that there was a way to get past all this, to “love what you do, and then you never work a day in your life”! But what if you don’t know what you love to do? What is one to do then?
It seems like this is the situation I’ve now found myself in, being commanded by the Lord through the still-small but very sure voice of the Holy Spirit to write. “You’re a writer!” I’ve heard Him say in my heart oh so many times. I say ‘oh so many times’, because, well, I asked him, A LOT, and it’s always the same answer. I’m a writer, though I’m not very good… YET! Help me Jesus! I’m learning more and more that there are so many things I could write. As Solomon in Ecclesiastes puts it, “writing books is endless”! I am currently writing a realistic-fiction Christian novel about a man experiencing the baptism of the Holy Spirit and subsequently moving in power and demonstration of the spiritual powers/gifts Jesus has given us by His death on the cross. But the problem is, I’m not exactly a great author. I’m kinda bad at writing, but that leaves a lot of room for improvement. I’m getting better. Writing is hard. It’s not just like talking, it’s a lot more nuanced than that. I can’t say I love writing at the moment. There are highs and there are lows. Many times I don’t feel like writing. I love what writing will eventually bring, however, finished novels! Ahh what a dream! I do crave to see the manifestation of what sowing into what the Lord told me to do will eventually bring.
I heard a pastor say, “If you are looking for a career, think to yourself, what would you do for free?” It was good advice. I felt as if this pastor was talking right to me. Praise Jesus. For me it is traveling, speaking, and bridging the gap between the many, MANY, differences believers in Christ have. I believe this can be done by the POWER of the Holy Ghost! If we all know the same Spirit, and have all received the same baptism(s), then how can we not be of the same mind? For who knows the mind of man except the spirit of man, and who knows the mind of God except by the Spirit of God? I see this as the place where people can sit on the same foundaiton, that foundation not just being the Word, but the very self-same Spirit that made the Word (and actually IS the Word, I’m talking about Jesus, GOD, and his vast power)! But to be frank, many ‘believing Christians’ have not experienced a fully repentant and rebirth-inducing water baptism – a baptism that’s for the remission of sins, not just an empty religious bath. And it greives my heart and mind, that many, MANY LESS have experienced the true baptism of the Holy Spirit. So how can we ever become one body, an ekklesia of mature believers? This is what my mind is intrigued by, constantly. This must be my calling. But without writing, I’ll never get there – ahhh, now I understand why the Lord has told me to write!
Now, I get what you may be thinking – because I’ve been told many times, “Yes, Mark, that’s great, but you MUST have a job to support yourself meanwhile, right?” I finally concede. Yes. Yes, I must be a tent-maker (one who does evangelistic work and has income on the side from a job to support it). Sounds like fun. I must live and work for the Lord, along with working for my next meal, a roof over my head, and maybe even some green in savings for future voyages and whathaveyou’s.
If you knew me before I was reborn, I was always thinking about the money and business game. That is, how to build something that can/will make money… Something lasting, something worthwile, something valuable, that provides value to many people on several levels. I still want this, but I get too far ahead of myself in my mind much too often, often causing me to have paralysis by analysis, leading me to be truly lazy.
My form of laziness is not like others. I call it a ‘spinning my wheels’ sort of productivity. Because I am restless, I am ALWAYS doing something, I mean it – always. I’m never just sitting down mindless, watching TV. Instead I have other clever methods of feeling productive, when really I’m just spinning my wheels in the sand of this world, not moving forwad. Like reading books all day.
I need to move forward, but I get distracted easily by seemingly productive things, that yield no real good result down the line. I tell myself a subtle lie in this way, oftentimes using research and journaling as a clever distraction to make myself feel as if I’m doing SOMETHING, and I am, technically, but really it’s not moving me forward at all in the things that I need to be moved forward IN! This is a definite plight of mine, which always leads me back into soul-searching and confronting the tough questions – what should I ACTUALLY be doing, what will move me forward? What is worthwhile to be doing? What does GOD want me to be doing? And I redirect, albeit a painful process to get to that point and an even greater strife to finally do the redirecting! But really, all along, it’s not as bad as I think or imagine it, in fact, it’s good! But as I’m told, “You need to grow up, Mark!” and I finally see that they were right – they’re not stuck in the ways of this world, i fact those I take advice from are in Christ! They are in the world, and play by it, but not OF the world. AHHH, now I see.
The purpose I have for writing this article is to simply pontificate about my journey of following Jesus, with my whole life. It’s not always easy to get your priorities straight. It can be tough to execute on the word from the Lord. It requires effort and breakthrough. But I do believe that all along Christ’s Spirit will be ‘keeping the wind at your back’ whether you know it or not. Jesus helps you do His will (if you let him)!
Don’t get me wrong, distractions persist, but remaining focus is an art to which I am seeking to grow into. In fact, for the sake of doing Christ’s will, I must learn this – focus! Focus Mark!
So I say to you – if you are deciding and wondering between doing God’s will for your life, and doing what you believe the world is making you have to do, like get a job, for instance, I say – don’t lose faith. There is time, God willing, by His grace! As my brother often says, “The way over is THROUGH!” it may seem messy, and hey, it may actually really be messy! But the other side is over the hump, regardless, and then you can figure out, refine, narrow down, and give it a try all over again. This time with some working knowledge and wisdom.
Thank you for reading. Stay humble. Stay teachable. God loves you.
Cheers,
Mark Sotomayor
MARK SOTOMAYOR 