Making God My Priority

“Everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ.” Philippians 3:8 (NLT)

I'm never going to become a friend of God in my spare time. To become his friend, I have to make knowing him my number one priority.

Paul says it like this: “Everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ” (Philippians 3:8 NLT).

So am I seeking God with all my heart each day?

Remember: I'm as close to God as I choose to be. Becoming a friend of God starts when I decide that’s what I want.

If I feel far from God, think about who moved. It wasn’t God. And I can’t blame anyone else, not my spouse, my parents, or my grandsons. It’s simply that I didn’t make him my number one priority.

Knowing and loving God is humanity’s greatest privilege. And being known and being loved by God is my greatest pleasure.

You can tell what’s important to people by what they brag about. If their kids are most important, they brag about their kids. If their job is the most important thing in their life, they brag about their job. If travel and having experiences are most important, that’s what they talk about. If partying or buying new clothes is what you talk about most, guess what you value most? I will brag about what I value most.

God says in Jeremiah 9:23-24, “The wise should not boast of their wisdom, nor the strong of their strength, nor the rich of their wealth. If any want to boast, they should boast that they know and understand me” (GNT).

Knowing God is what matters most—it’s what life is all about. The God of the universe loves me and wants to have a relationship with me.  And getting close to him will give me peace and perspective. That’s good news!

In summary:

There is an absolute necessity to prioritizw a relationship with God over all earthly achievements and distractions. Drawing from the Apostle Paul’s radical shift in Philippians 3:8, spiritual intimacy is never an accidental byproduct of "spare time" but a deliberate result of counting all other gains as "garbage" by comparison. It emphasizes human agency in the spiritual life, asserting that my proximity to God is a direct reflection of my personal choices and values. By auditing what I "boast" about—whether it be family, career, or wealth—I can uncover my true priorities, eventually aligning with the Jeremiah 9 mandate that my only valid boast is the understanding and knowledge of the Creator.

Bottom Line:

My proximity to God is not determined by His distance from me, but by my daily decision to value Him above every other pursuit.

Next Steps:

Conduct a "Conversation Audit" over the next 48 hours. Carefully observe the topics I brag about or discuss with the most enthusiasm. If my speech highlights temporary achievements—such as career wins or material acquisitions—more than my walk with Christ, intentionally dedicate the first 20 minutes of my time to "discard" those distractions through prayer and scripture, re-centering my identity on being known by Him.