First Things First

(text: 1 Kings 2:10-12; 3:3-14)

If tomorrow was your last day, how would you live it?  If tomorrow was your last day, what would you do with the time you have left on earth?

I asked some of my friends this question.  One of my friends said he would spend the night at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City, eat at the finest restaurant in town, and get courtside seats for the Knicks.  Another friend said she would close her bank accounts, tell everyone she knows how much she loves them, and with cash in hand get to Hawaii as fast as she could.  And another friend said he would sleep late that morning, buy all new clothes, give them away, and be wasteful such as turning on all the lights in his house at the same time and taking a really long, hot shower.  As for me, I would tell my wife D’Anna to call in sick to work, tell my family and friends I love them, travel with D'Anna and our son Michael to the Jersey Shore, and enjoy the day on the beach and strolling on the Point Pleasant boardwalk with a ride on the carousel.

If tomorrow was your last day, how would you live it?  You would most likely want to do things you’ve always wanted to do.  You would also want to honor and acknowledge what's important to you, what your priorities are.  What are those priorities?

We read this morning that King David has died and his son, Solomon, is the new king of Israel.  He desires to follow in the ways of his father, but he’s not sure how to be king.  He’s a rookie, he’s new at this king thing.  Solomon wants to have the same relationship with God that his father David had.  This means following and obeying God through the Law of Moses walking in the ways of the Lord keeping God’s statutes and commandments: These are his top priorities.  Solomon knows what is important and what his priorities are.

When the Lord appears to Solomon in a dream, God instructs Solomon to ask Him for whatever he wants.  What would you ask God for?  More money?  Better grades in school?  A luxury home?  A higher I.Q.?  Power and control?  Lose weight?  Well-behaved children? 

Putting first things first, Solomon seeks to follow the proper pattern of kingship started by his father David, to walk with the Lord and serve God as his father did, so Solomon asks God, not for riches, power or honor, but for an “understanding mind” with which to govern the people of Israel.  The literal translation in the Hebrew of this phrase is a “listening heart”.  The ancient Israelites considered the heart to be both the center of intellect and an organ of perception, open to divine direction, and a necessary gift for governing and knowing right from wrong.  In other words, a king needed more than “head smarts”, “book” knowledge and experience to be an effective ruler, he needed a listening heart and an understanding mind that comes only from God.  Solomon’s top priority is to obey the Lord and govern His chosen people.

Solomon’s answer to the Lord shows us what kind of person Solomon was: respectful of his father, humble in spirit, and most importantly he loves the Lord first and foremost. 

This is certainly not the norm for a king in the ancient near east or for most rulers of our modern day.  More often than not, the chief priorities of ancient kings were power, control, wealth and honor.  They sought to obtain these things by conquering neighboring nations, and enslaving those whom they defeated to build great palaces for themselves.  They ruled with an iron fist suspicious of everyone and trusting no one.  The result of such earthly pursuits was in vain at best, for wealth, power, and control are fleeting and do not last.  For you and me, we realize that once we have obtained a degree of wealth, power and control that it’s never enough.  We desire more and more.  You and I need to be grounded upon something stable and true.  Otherwise it all becomes a never-ending cycle of pride and self-destruction.  We can lose sight of what are priorities are and fall into a trap of hopeless, self-defeating living.  God wants to give us something better, he wants to be our top priority, but it is so hard for us to give up the things, the wealth and the power we already have acquired for ourselves.

Many, many years ago there was a cheerful girl with bouncy curls who was I believe almost five years old waiting with her mother at the checkout of the store.  As she waited, the little girl saw a circle of glistening white pearls in a pink foil box. “Oh please, Mom. Can I have them? Please, Mom, please?”

Her mother checked the back of the little foil box and said, “Jenny, these pearls cost $1.95. If you really want them, I’ll think of some extra chores for you to do and raise your allowance. It won’t take long for you to save enough money to buy them yourself.”

Her mother was right. After only two weeks, Jenny had enough money saved for the pearls. Her mother took her back to the store, where Jenny proudly counted out her money to the cashier.

Jenny loved her pearls. They made her feel pretty and grown up. She wore them everywhere—Sunday school, kindergarten, even to bed. The only time she took them off was when she went swimming or took a bubble bath. Her mother said that if they got wet, they might turn her neck green.

Jenny also had a very loving dad. Every night when she was ready for bed, her dad would stop whatever he was doing and come upstairs to read her a story. One night when he finished the story, he said to Jenny, “I love you, sweetheart. Do you love me?”

“Oh yes, Dad,” Jenny replied. “You know that I love you.”

“Then give me your pearls,” her father said.

Jenny was confused. “Oh, Dad, not my pearls,” she said. “But you can have Princess, the white horse from my collection. Remember, Dad? The one you gave me last year? She’s my favorite.”

“That’s okay, Honey,” Jenny’s father said. “Dad loves you. Good night.” And he brushed her cheek with a kiss.

About a week later, after story time, Jenny’s dad said once again, “I sure do love you, sweetheart. Do you love me?”

“Dad, you know I love you.”

“Then give me your pearls.”

Jenny was confused again. “Oh Dad, not my pearls. But you can have my baby doll. The brand new one I got for my birthday. She is so beautiful. You can even have the yellow blanket that matches her sleeper, too, as a bonus.”

“That’s okay,” Jenny’s father said. “Dad loves you. Good night.” And as always, he gave her a gentle kiss.

A few nights later when her dad came in, Jenny was sitting on her bed with her legs crossed. As he came close, he noticed her chin was trembling and tears rolled down her cheek.

“What is it, Jenny? What’s the matter?”

Jenny didn’t say anything, but lifted her hand up to her dad.  And when she opened it, there was her little pearl necklace. With a little quiver, she finally said, “Here, Dad, it’s for you.”

With tears now gathering in his own eyes, Jenny’s dad reached out with one hand to take the necklace. With the other hand he reached into his pocket and pulled out a blue velvet case and gave it to Jenny.

When she opened it, she found a beautiful strand of REAL pearls.

What are you hanging on to?  Are wealth, power, and control the top priorities of your life?  What kind of cheap, dime-store, imitation jewelry is preventing you from receiving the blessing and wisdom God has for us as he did for King Solomon? 

Solomon knew what was important in life and he sought after it.  Solomon, promising to obey the Lord, humbly asks for wisdom and God grants it to him.  But God doesn’t stop there.  He grants Solomon what he did not ask for: wealth and power and honor for his whole life.  It’s amazing the things God can do in our lives when we are willing to make God our top priority.  It’s amazing what God can do when God is first in our lives, when we seek and worship him at all times and in all places, for all that we need.  As the psalmist wrote, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom”.  When we fear, that is revere the Lord, when we walk in his ways, obey his commandments and Christ’s teachings, we begin to know the difference between good and evil and right and wrong, the priorities of our lives are molded and shaped by God.  We see the world and those around us in a new way.

Nobody will forget the events of September 11, 2001.  The destruction, chaos and death of that tragic day brought out the best in people.  Police officers and fire fighters answered the call to serve and protect no matter what the results might be.  Everyday New Yorkers lined up at hospitals and Red Cross offices to give blood, lines encompassing a city block in places.  Churches became sanctuaries for the hurt, the shaken, the despondent, the hopeless and the fearful.  City residents brought what food and water they had to soot-covered refugees fleeing lower Manhattan, many providing a place to sleep in their homes and apartments to complete strangers, regardless of race, economic class or religion.  Americans from all around the country rose up to bring support and care to the people of New York and its surrounding communities.  In a city often seen as cold and ruthless and unfriendly, people’s priorities shifted to not just loving and watching out for themselves, but visibly loving their neighbors, too.  When we have the wisdom of God in our hearts, our priorities are transformed to know that we are to love one another as God first loved us.

Dr. Gordon Dahl, associate professor for economics at the University of Rochester, wrote, “Most Americans tend to worship their work, work at their play, and play at their worship.”  Does this sound like somebody who has their priorities in order?  Or is this the new standard of our society to live by?  When we put God first, when we follow Christ each day, we get ourselves back on track with the Lord.  With God in the driver’s seat of our lives, when we trust Him with the keys, the other areas of life fall into place.  Goodness, mercy and love fill our spirits as we live as Christ’s disciples: to worship and praise God, to work in service to others, and to play with a spirit of joy and peace.

My friends, all that we are, our very existence, our very life is only possible because of God, our creator.  Everything else in our lives, including our parents, children, friends and extended family, are gifts from God.  God in Christ Jesus is our number one priority above all else.  Above our spouses, our children, our work, our everything: the sovereign God of the universe is everything!  God is everything!  Our families, friends, careers, and hobbies are priorities in our lives, but God in Christ Jesus comes before all of those.  I believe when we truly come to fully understand and confess this truth that we will be blessed beyond earthly measure as Solomon was.  Jesus says, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things shall be added onto you.” 

            As God in Christ lived and died and rose from the dead for each of us, so we are to live for God in Christ Jesus, giving up the fake set of pearls for real, genuine pearls; serving those in need; to worship, grow and mature into his likeness more and more each day. 

We are to live for God in Christ Jesus to show the world that we have the victory in Jesus’ name; the victory over the powers of evil and death with the power of God; the victory over the norms and lax standards of our society; the victory that is only possible through Christ and not by our own efforts. 

When we live for God in Christ Jesus, we live not by our own power, but by the Holy Spirit of the Lord.  Our hearts are saturated with healing rain falling from the flood gates of heaven and we are made new, with God as our top priority.  And all good things will be added unto you.

If tomorrow was your last day, how would you live it?