First Things First....
But What is First on the List?
Lobster boats tell the straight story. First on the list is livelihood....and lobster traps come first. No matter what the weather, the lobster fishers are out for the daily haul. Their lives depend on it. So what do our lives depend on? Have we set priorities to make first things first?
Henri Nouwen distinguishes between "the tyranny of urgency and the call of necessity." Is that self-explanatory? Make a list of what pulls at you from your "to do list." What is urgent? What is necessary? or should we say, "what does your life truly depend on?
I've heard it put another way by M. Scott Peck in his still best-selling The Road Less Traveled. Life is not fair, he writes, but does not remove your choices. You can choose (fairly!) to "enhance life," build up life in yourself and others. That's his description of "love." It is an active way of promoting your life to contribute to others.
Jesus is even more direct. Lose your life, find your life. If you are to "lose your life," then the first priority is to ask--"when who are you giving your life to and what for?" Jesus says "love God first and your neighbor as yourself." Enhance life by giving life away.
What does your life really depend on? Is it making a living or giving life?
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