Order

As I have previously shared, you know I only do Starbucks two or three times a year. It's mainly because I am not a big coffee drinker but I also get a little worked up about the whole ordering process. I can't ever remember if it is a "tall, non-fat, decaf, vanilla latte" or if it is a "decaf, tall, vanilla, non-fat latte". What I love even more is that the person taking my order is trained to repeat what I am requesting in the proper order. Do they really need to point out that I got the sequence of adjectives wrong? It cracks me up because I end up too embarassed to remember exactly what the correct order was for my next visit.

Jump from coffee to life. How many times do I get the order wrong? How many times do we as Christ followers fall into the same routine as the world? We are to be different. Not different like better than everyone else, but different to the point that others notice and want to live a life of proper order. We can't just proclaim it. We must live it. That means a pile of my dirty clothes shouldn't come before my quiet time. It means praying before worrying. It means reading the Bible or praying before picking up the phone to gossip with a friend. It means integrity before prosperity. It means tithing before paying the bills. It means marriage before sex.

One of the greatest tragedies I see in my ministry is the order in marriages. I believe marriages are falling apart because so many are getting the order backwards. I believe circumstances we often face, start to cause the order in our marriages to shift.

Wives, God is first and then your husband and then your kids. The very best thing you can give your kids is the example of loving your husband the way the Bible tells us to. I am shocked at single moms who put a man before their kids when dating, and then put the kids before their husband after marriage. Husbands, God first and then your wife. Not your job. Not your kids. Not your sports or cars. Our kids need more Godly men setting the example so sons can be great husbands and so daughters don't settle for anything less.

"So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. BUT seek FIRST His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." (Matthew 6:31-33)

It comes down to what you and I are surrounding ourselves with. To be in this world and to be effective, we have to spend more time putting truth into our heads and hearts so that truth is what we live out. God's law is our guide. Romans 3:20 says "Therefore, no one will be declared righteous in His sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin."