Priorities

One day in late spring Jack was wondering what to do with his old lawn mower after purchasing a new one. His wife suggested that since it still worked well, they should give it to their poor neighbor Tim. “Yes,” Jack replied, “he does mow his large yard with that old push mower. He would love it!” So later that day Jack went to his neighbor’s home and gave him the used mower, for which he was very thankful. Tim really enjoyed his new gift and used it on a regular basis.

Then one day several weeks later Jack returned and said his new mower was in the shop and he needed to use the older one. Tim gladly sent him home with the machine. Two weeks later Jack returned it. The following week he was back and said he again needed to use the mower. This time when he returned it, Tim noticed Jack had changed the seat and had done some other things to the mower. As Tim was talking with his wife that evening, he expressed how he didn’t understand what Jack was doing. Tim replayed in his mind the day Jack had brought the mower over, reassuring himself that the mower had been given to him. It just didn’t make sense to him why he continued to come and take it back whenever he needed it. Finally, they concluded that maybe he originally wanted to give them the mower, but later decided that he still wanted to control it and use it when he needed to.

Dear friends, does this sound like our life with Christ? We said that we gave our life to Him, yet we still do what we want with it; we still want full control.

I was recently talking with a brother who had been involved with missions for many years. He shared with me the problems they face with their missionaries. He said that most people that come to the mission field are simply there for ‘missionary status’.  At that point it all began to make sense. If you are going to the mission field only for, or mainly for, selfish reasons, then it’s no wonder it’s not working. It explains why missionaries today are more worried about comforts and short contracts than they are about the souls of men. 

After our family moved to a foreign country, many people have asked us when we plan to return home. To this question I have no answer, but I do know that if God has sent us to the mission field, then God will also need to send us home. I have seen many that have spent time on the mission field but are now back home. I usually ask them why they came home and what they are currently doing. The answers are usually the same… “We just felt it was time to come home.” Not only are they back home, but they are usually back working at their previous employment. It’s almost like they decided to take a year or two off and hit the mission field overseas, then when that gets old, they head back home. 

My desire in this article is not to criticize short-term missions, nor to say how long one should spend on the mission field. My heart is that we make sure we are going into foreign missions with God’s will in mind and a desire to serve Him in whatever way is pleasing to Him, not just because we want to explore another culture or get away for a while.

So how do we decide who is called to missions? I believe that if we do not care about the lost around us while we’re still in our country, we can’t expect to care for the lost in another country. If we are ashamed to spread the Gospel of peace in our homeland, how can we expect to do it in another land? It amazes me to see who is going overseas to be missionaries. Many times, its people who seem to have great difficulty submitting to authority, people who are being conformed to this world, people who have an independent spirit, and other such carnal weaknesses. If our lights are hidden when we’re living in America, how do we expect them to shine when we are in another country? Especially when there are a great deal of hardships and difficulties that are waiting for us.

It seems to me that, for the most part, the ones who are drifting farther away from God seem to talk as though they are becoming more and more spiritual. And unfortunately, many of these decide to spend more time involved with missions. Could it be that the reason for much of our failure on the mission field is because the wrong people are going? The devil wants the ones with a twisted, watered-down Gospel to go and spread their false doctrines. Also, the devil is trying to get the sound, faithful believers to ‘live a quiet and peaceable life,’ to be quiet, and to keep to themselves. Thus, the ones who should really be going are the ones that are staying home, and the ones who should be staying home are the ones that are going! 

I have had many conservative Anabaptists warn me of the dangers of losing my children on the mission field, but this I do not understand. If we lose our children, how can we blame it on our location? Yes, it is true that missionaries are losing their children. Does that mean we should forget about Jesus’ great commission to …Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature, according to Mark 16:15? No, actually, we should be sending godly men who have their homes in order. Many brothers and sisters in the faith are losing their children in this day. I could list many reasons why but serving Christ on the mission field is not one of them. In fact, I believe it is a great place to raise a godly family.

It all goes back to priorities. If serving God is number one in our life, we would have more faithful missionaries. I was talking with the director of a large Anabaptist mission and he told me they are in great need of workers. What he said next did not surprise me. “When the economy is good in America, we can’t find people, but when it’s bad, we have all positions full.”

This simply takes us back to our priorities. What if God would look into your heart and print off a list of your priorities? What would be number one? To be honest I don’t think it would look very good. Maybe our family is number one, then our business or employment, then our friends, entertainment, church family, house, bank account, and then God somewhere towards the bottom. Now don’t get me wrong, I know we would all say God is first, but do our actions prove that? Maybe we don’t understand Jesus’ command to forsake all that we have and follow Him. I know it goes against our natural tendency to deny ourselves and follow Jesus. It’s not common sense. However, it is a must if you want to enter the kingdom of God. We are not talking about right and wrong; we are talking about priorities. If we would start putting God first – before our businesses and entertainment and family – our children would see that, and they would want to do the same. Our children are the first ones to see what is number one in daddy’s life.

When the Anabaptists were overseas several hundred years ago, they were active. They traveled and preached the Gospel message; they sent out missionaries leaving their families, not expecting to return. They were persecuted, and they were killed, but isn’t that what our Lord says will happen? The Gospel was spreading like wild fire. One executioner said that the more Christians he killed, the more of them there were. Finally, there was an invitation to travel away from persecution to a free country. Once there, they began to work, they could build their farms unhindered, they could raise their children unhindered, and that’s just what they did. However, it didn’t take long before wealth, land, and possessions overtook them. Because of their hard work ethic, their honesty and loyalty, they became the rich.

Yes, for us as conservative Anabaptists, life is now good for us, but what about the Gospel? What about our faith? Let’s be honest. Are we just as willing as our forefathers were, to die for serving Jesus? Or did this ‘vanity fair’ grasp us in its talons and will not let go? There are brothers who will be called to earn a living and support the ones that are sent. Is that what we are doing, or have we put ourselves first in everything?! Let’s not forget the parable of the certain poor widow who gave two mites, which was all that she had. Jesus said she gave more than all the rich men.

Dear brothers and sisters let’s make sure that we have our priorities right. Is God our all in all? Or do we give to Him of our time and money, that which we think is extra? We don’t all know God’s will for our life, but why is that? That could be because we already have our life all figured out. We already know what we want out of this life that’s but a vapor. This doesn’t leave much time for God. Dear ones, just being a good church member is not all that God has for us. He wants everything – Everything!

With houses and barns and a beautiful life,
There surely won’t come unhappiness and strife.
But what if we’re missing the thing that counts most;
A relationship with the Lord of hosts.
We can have much land for corn or rice,
But what if we miss the pearl of great price?
No one on earth enjoys living with regret.
Can you imagine eternity, if it’s Him you forget?
The years pass by, one then two;
What if it’s you Jesus never knew?
As our vision narrows and opportunities come by,
Do we seize the moment, even if Jesus would cry?
We don’t know tomorrow, what it will bring,
But don’t we try to not miss a thing?
We all seem really good with talking the talk.
Will He find faith, and people walking the walk?
We say God is first with no question in mind
But a man on the altar is not easy to find.
Do we grab hold of everything life has to bring;
And forget about the cross, to which we should cling?
How bad do you want to see our great King;
Will you follow no matter, just what it might bring?
Is it money you love, or pleasure and fame?
Can you forsake it all for His worthy name?
If we count all but loss, forsaking our will,
Would not then God enter, and our life He would fill?
Can we put our God first, no matter the cost;
And reap in the harvest, before it is lost?
This is God’s will, a mansion awaits.
Oh, how I want to see Him, at those pearly gates!

Barry Grant