Priorities

There are so many things to do its hard to figure out which to do first. Normally the first to get done is the one that will relieve the most pressure. It sure seems like its the most important. But is that the one that should top the priority list? To whom is it most important? What purpose will it fulfill? What are the consequences if left undone?

Its only natural to rank priorities in the order that will best serve the individuals purpose. Often that means performing a task that is menial to the detriment of something more meritorious. How does one go about determining the juxtaposition of daily events?

Solomon dealt with this issue in Ecclesiastes. He first established that everything had a season. "A time for every purpose under heaven." He then turns from the temporal to the eternal. "He [God] made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from the beginning to end." God has put eternity in the hearts of His creation. Man was made for eternity.

Everything Solomon spoke of as having a season he regards as temporal. Solomon offers two perspectives, the temporal and the eternal. Man was made for eternity while everything else was made for time. If that is true, then nothing in time can truly satisfy man. The only thing that can satisfy man is that which is eternal.

This eternal perspective sheds a different light on any list of priorities. The apostle Paul said "Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth." When determining priorities the eternal perspective is the only one that really matters.