AT CAPACITY--November 20, 2011

Thanksgiving is on its way. Christmas won't be far behind. Our calendars are filling up quickly. The Christmas parties and shopping and family get togethers and church activities and special events are about to engulf our lives. All of these things--or at least most of them--are good things that enrich our lives. Yet, they also contribute to our feeling of being overloaded and unable to accomplish everything that needs to be accomplished.

In last week's lesson, we recognized the indisputable fact that we all have a limited amount of time. In view of that fact, we agreed that a good question to be asking in lieu of "What time is it?" would be the question, "How are you spending your time?" The implication of this question is that we should be spending our time doing things that honor and please God.

In this week's lesson, Andy Stanley illustrates the principle of priortizing the important things in life by using a familiar demonstration of big rocks and smaller pebbles being placed in a glass container. Most of us have seen the demonstration before. Yet, it continues to illustrate a very important point: The key to getting more productive is to prioritize.

Your priorities determine the capacity of your time. As we watched the illustration, we saw that when the big rocks are put into the jar first and then the smaller rocks representing the details of our lives are poured in, they all fit nicely into the glass container. When the smaller pebbles are given priority and placed in the container first, there is not enough room to get all the big rocks into the container.

What are the big rocks in your life? Certainly, your spouse and your kids would be considered "big rocks." Your job would be a "big rock." In order to identify all the big rocks in your life, simply ask yourself the question, "What do I view as important and who do I view as important?"

Andy makes a good point when he says, "Business destroys intimacy." We economize our relationships as we add, add, and add to our lives. For example, our relationship with our kids and our spouse will suffer if we continuously allow the demands of our job, our golf game, our hunting habits, our night out with friends, our bridge club, or any other event or combination of activities prevent us from spending quality time with our family on a regular basis. We live in a culture that seldom forces us to prioritize correctly. Unfortunately, most of us can look back a a time or season of our life when we could have done this better.

Priority determines capacity EVERY single time.

In both the Old and New Testament, we are taught to put God in the jar FIRST. Putting God first influences the priority of everything else in our lives. The Biblical equivalent of the word "priority" is really the word "seek." In Psalm 63:1, we see David committing to seek God earnestly. Psalm 119:10 makes reference to David seeking the Lord with all his heart. In Proverbs 28:5, we are told, "...those who seek the Lord understand all things." Matthew 6:33 encourages us to seek FIRST the kingdom of God and His Righteousness. This means to invite God to be the organizing principle around which everything else revolves in our lives.

Andy challenges us to accomplish this priority in a simple manner. He suggests that we give God the first few minutes of every day and that we seek His guidance in the organization and priority of our day. Since the first few minutes of our day can often set the direction and pace of our day, doesn't it make sense to spend these minutes with the Lord? Andy suggests modifying the Lord's prayer to meet our own unique personalities and experiences and to use this as a pattern for communicating with the Lord every morning. He emphasizes the need to thank God for our protection, provision, and for the pardon of our sins.

You are seeking SOMETHING first. Why not let it be God? If we re-orient our time around God's will, He will make us productive as we honor Him. As the Holiday Crunch arrives this week, let's make an effort to prioritize our lives around the will of God. Will you join your Christian brothers and sisters in the coming weeks of Holiday Cheer and Goodwill in putting God first and allowing him to re-prioritize everything else in your lives? You may experience the best Christmas season ever if you are able to truly make God your top priority.

REMEMBER--NO SUNDAY SCHOOL CLASS NEXT WEEK. On December 4, we will begin looking in earnest at the Christmas Story, beginning with the story of Zechariah and the birth of John the Baptist.