Have you ever done one of those life-prioritization exercises?  The activity where you list categories of your life in order of importance?   The exercise can range from a simple ranking of just a few items to a complex matrix.  I’ve even seen a simple acrostic, perhaps you’ve seen it too: JOY.  Jesus first, others second, yourself third. 

We like our boxes, don’t we?  Nice, tidy bins in which to organize life.

Let’s try a prioritization example using some color.  We’ll keep it simple with three categories: God/faith, family, and work.  We’ll use the color blue for the God/faith part of our lives, red for family, and green for work.  Try to visualize your list.

Now look at your list from this perspective.  First, start with a blue piece of paper.  Then, write your categories using a thick blue highlighter, not in list format, but on a wheel.  Next, write “family” and “work” within the blue writing using mostly red for “family” but also using some green.  Likewise, “work” will be mostly green, but will have a bit of red ink as well.  There are many connections between family and work.  For example, we work to support our family and what happens at work can affect our moods at home.

Life is messy and connected.  The various parts of our lives ebb and flow.  It is not static or stationary, but dynamic and changing.  Life is alive! 

What is the importance of viewing life priorities as interrelated and soaked in blue?  Dividing out our lives and priorities can be helpful and clarifying at times.  However, holding on to that static view will lead to a compartmentalized life, separating and dividing.  There lies the danger.  That’s when we get in the mindset of this is the “God” part of my life, and this other part is mine.  When, in truth God is to be a part of every aspect of our lives.  We gain victory and thrive in life after we have surrendered every part to Him.

This doesn’t mean that you go around preaching to your coworkers and the grocery store clerk.  It means that you live life through an attitude of Christ Jesus.  You are a new creation, created through and in Christ!  His likeness becomes integrated into every aspect of your life in the unique way you are you.

You are special and unique.  God created you for a purpose.  But with that also needs to come the realization that the next person is also special and unique, created for a purpose.  God doesn’t show favoritism.  He loves each one of us dearly. 

Our relationships with others are another area where compartmentalization is dangerous.  Churches become competitors instead of cooperators.  We need to view ourselves as one body of Christ instead of competing for people.  A body has many parts.  We specialize in different areas.  Let us work together and encourage one another.

It is also dangerous when we isolate others from ourselves.  Let’s take that JOY acrostic, for example:  others come before yourself.  I would challenge you to look at the big picture.  The Bible states that we are to consider others before ourselves, but it also states that we should consider the needs of others as we do our own.  To summarize, we should view others as equal to or greater than ourselves.  It takes wisdom to determine what is appropriate.  This is a big problem area for parents and caregivers.  We do a lot for our children at our own expense.  Perhaps taking a sanity break and eating a snack would be more beneficial.  Because, if you get worn out and hangry later, that is not a household full of “JOY.”  Consider the big picture.  Enable yourself the ability to continue to take care of others.

Spend some time this week considering all the connections between the different areas of your life.  Try to see a spider web instead of separated boxes.  Break down the boxes, starting with those that compartmentalize faith.  Pray for other churches.  Invite God into an area you perceived as unrelated to faith.  Take a step back to look at the big picture.

Consider these scriptures this week:
1 Corinthians 1:1-13  I love how Paul starts out.  Did you catch the mild correction in verse 2?
Mark 12:28-34
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
Romans 12:1-16
Colossians 3:1-17