What’s Most Important?

I hold to the belief that you cannot have allegiances to both Duke and UNC, the Packers and the Bears, or the Yankees and the Red Sox. In Matthew 6:24, it says, “He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other.” That verse isn’t talking about sports! It’s talking about God and money. Most of us love both of those and that can be a problem. If you were to love any of the sets of teams mentioned above, you have a huge problem as well.

Simply put, you can only have one thing that is the most important in your life. When I ask my children what is the most important thing in their lives, they know to respond, “God.” But just because you know that is the right answer doesn’t make it the truthful answer. Total allegiance to a sports team seems easier. You won’t find a Packers fans secretly wearing a Bear’s jersey. However, we can find Christians secretly hoarding their money or doing things based solely on the love of money.

Maybe the problem lies in the fact that, at times, we are merely lukewarm fans of Jesus and not disciples. If we truly have matured in our faith and strengthened our relationship with him, then real commitment comes easier. There will always be a temptation for money to take the place of Jesus, but the more committed we are, the harder it is to allow anything to come between us and our God. The question we all must continually ask ourselves is, “Is God truly the most important thing in my life?”

—Tracy Earl Welliver, MTS