I have to admit that I'm not completely fearless with regards to flying. The thought of me sitting in a machine that weighs a bazillion tons and having nothing between it and the earth can be a little disconcerting.
This past week I boarded 4 planes with my youngest son on a visit to see his nanny and poppy in another province. I settled him in with his bottle and took a look through the channels on the little t.v. screen in front of me. Out of curiosity, I stopped on a channel about the airline I was travelling with. It showcased it's values and services and ended with a little slogan something like -
"Your safety is our top priority."
My first thought was..."Well...that's nice (shouldn't that be a given?)." I kind of chuckled to myself because I imagined what if it was - "Your comfort is our top priority"? Our leather plush seats will have you sitting in the lap of luxury...but we can't promise that our engine is running smoothly...
Or, "Your menu is our top priority." The steak we serve you will melt in your mouth and is grilled to perfection...but we haven't had a service check in five years.
Or, "Your schedule is our top priority." We will get you there on time...even if we have to skip the deicing.
Thankfully, life-savingly, our airlines have their priorities in order. Yes, having an airline that made it's top priority something other than our safety seems ludicrous...but don't we do the same sometimes?
What about the man striving to get to the top while his family longs for his love and attention? Or the young lady that starves herself - trading health for her idea of perfection? Or the teenager who compromises and ignores his values to be popular?
What about when I put cleaning the dishes in front of a giggle with my son? Or read another chapter instead of spending time with my husband? Or how about when I let all my daily "duties" crowd out time with God?
Jesus knows we are so easily distracted by the things around us. In Matthew 6, He talks about things like money and food and worry and how these will fight for first priority in our life. With just a few words He affirms that He understands our needs and is happy to provide them but exhorts us to put our priorities in the right order.
"But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well (NIV)." Matthew 6:33
I have to mention one more thing. God sent His Son to die for the punishment of sin - our sin - He was raised to life to show that He had conquered sin and death - our sin and death - and longs for relationship with us so that when we die we will be with Him forever. Going through life and being the best one can be, getting the best job and raising the best kids and looking the best in skinny jeans but not entering into that relationship with Jesus is like flying on an airline that makes cleanliness their number one priority - a spotless plane means nothing if the machinery is not working.
Let's take a look at our priorities.
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