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Making God “Second Best”

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Categories: Church of Christ Bulletin Articles Tags:

In this very “busy” world we live in, we are prone to neglect the most important part of life, and that is our spiritual life. This material world offers us much in the way of fulfilling our fleshly appetites but little in the way of fulfilling our spiritual “needs”. We must always remember that this life is temporary (James 4:14) and that the “things” we are so busy accumulating in this life are temporary as well (1 John 2:15-17). We never know when the Lord will require our soul (Luke 12:20) thus our most important “thing” in life is to “do the will of God” (Ecclesiastes 12:13; Matthew 7:21; James 1:22; 1 John 2:17). God will then supply all our “needs” (Philippians 4:18-19).

When we as Christians are “too busy” to give the Lord our “best” and to put His kingdom “first” (on a priority one basis), we are making God “second best” (Deuteronomy 28:47; Matthew 6:33). With this thought in mind, the following poem by an unknown author is provided for our consideration:

Making God Second Best

I’m always prompt to punch the clock;
I never miss a date;
But when I go to worship God,
I’m usually always late.
I wouldn’t think of leaving work,
To visit brother Fred;
I just wait ’til Sunday comes,
And forsake the church instead.
I never miss a day at work;
Perfection’s what I seek;
But I miss the worship of my God
Once or twice a week.
I talk with people daily,
Of many subjects rife,
But I never mention Jesus,
Nor show Him in my life.
I spend extra on my family
For things I can’t afford;
But I don’t remember, ever,
Giving extra to the Lord.
When your life on earth is over
And they lay you down to rest,
How can He say to you, “Well done,”
If you’ve made Him second best?

Conclusion

Brethren, as the above poem suggests, do we actually expect God to give us an eternal dwelling place in heaven when we give Him the “leftovers” of our life and thus make Him “second best”? Let’s seriously and humbly think about it and then resolve to give our heavenly Father the “best” of our lives – not “second best”.

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