First Things First
"Bring the best of the firstfruits of your soil to the house of the Lord your God." -Exodus 23:19a From time management gurus, to accountants, to my own mother—the phrase "First things First" is a favorite. It seems simplistic and trite at first glance. Obviously, you have to put on your socks before your shoes. First things have to go first. But as simple as the phrase seems, it is often exceedingly difficult to implement in our lives. I don’t know about you, but I have a list of books a mile long that are waiting to be read. I have a list of home improvements that I’d like to make. I have a list of lists that I need to complete. And with all these lists, it seems they never get any shorter. It seems that the longer I look at the long list, the longer I can put things off. In order to make any progress, I have to forget the lists, and focus on one line. I, personally, can only do one thing at a time. I have to take one thing at a time, and put first things first. I