“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” – Proverbs 3:5-6

There are days when I feel like multi-tasking is just a reality of life. There is so much going on and so little time to do it. Inevitably, I’ve had to learn how to prioritize. I’ve heard from some that people should prioritize the things that only they can do and to reassign other tasks or responsibilities to others because other people are also very capable of doing such things.

I’ve also heard of another way to prioritize things. It provides a different perspective, which is more God-oriented than work-oriented. Our priorities should be 1. God 2. Family 3. Church. These were the three categories that I was shown. But I would add one more category between God and Family: Self. Recently, there’s been more and more emphasis on the need for self-care in our lives. And it’s true: if we don’t take care of ourselves, it’ll have a ripple effect down through other areas of our lives.

But the number one category is still God. Self-care needs to be defined in relationship to who God is in our lives. If that relationship is broken or non-existent, then it’ll impact and shape how everything else looks in our lives.

As I continue to do ministry, I have to remind myself that as much as there is to do, there are also other priorities in my life and if I don’t take care of those things, it’ll impact the way I serve and minister to the people around me. Too often I’ve seen other people sacrifice family time and self-care for the ministry and we find that in the long term, it’ll have some negative impacts on the ministry itself.

Of course, this list is not exhaustive. But church also needs to take priority over other things as well. It’s not just something we squeeze in because it’s convenient or when we have time, but rather, we need to make it a priority in our lives.

Let us continue to have God at the top of the list, followed by self-care, family, and church. There are a lot of important things in our lives that call for our attention; may God grant us wisdom in prioritizing and being faithful to the things that God has entrusted to us.