Course:
Personal Development
At the heart of biblical prioritization is the radical call to put God and His Kingdom above all else. This principle reorients our entire approach to managing our lives and time.
This pivotal verse from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount serves as the ultimate guide for prioritization. It is not merely a suggestion but a command with a profound promise.
“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Matthew 6:33)
To “seek first his kingdom” means to make God’s reign and rule the supreme priority in our lives. It implies:
Prioritizing God’s Will: Submitting our desires, plans, and ambitions to His perfect will.
Advancing God’s Purposes: Actively participating in the spread of the Gospel, discipleship, and the demonstration of God’s love and justice in the world.
Living for God’s Glory: Ensuring that our actions, choices, and use of time ultimately bring honor to Him.
To “seek his righteousness” means to pursue a life of holiness, reflecting God’s character in our thoughts, words, and deeds. This involves cultivating the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) and living in obedience to His commands.
Lessons for Today’s Christian and Minister: For the Christian, Matthew 6:33 provides the ultimate filter for every decision. Before committing to an activity, a project, or even a relationship, the question must be asked: “Does this help me seek first God’s Kingdom and His righteousness?” This principle helps guard against the tyranny of the urgent and the allure of worldly pursuits that distract from eternal priorities. For ministers, this verse is the bedrock of their calling. Their primary task is to lead people to seek God’s Kingdom first. This means prioritizing prayer, Bible study, discipleship, and evangelism above administrative tasks, social engagements, or personal comforts [1].
A common trap in time management is allowing urgent tasks to dominate our schedules, often at the expense of truly important ones. Urgent tasks demand immediate attention, while important tasks contribute to our long-term vision, values, and goals.
Urgent: Requires immediate attention. Often reactive, crisis-driven, and visible. Examples: phone calls, emails, immediate deadlines, unexpected problems.
Important: Contributes to our mission, values, and high-priority goals. Often proactive, requires planning, and may not have immediate consequences if neglected. Examples: spiritual disciplines, strategic planning, relationship building, personal development, preventative maintenance.
The challenge is that urgent tasks often feel more pressing, even if they are not important. Neglecting important tasks, however, leads to long-term consequences, often manifesting as future crises.
Lessons for Today’s Christian and Minister: For Christians, learning to distinguish between urgent and important is crucial for effective stewardship of time. It means intentionally scheduling time for important activities before the urgent demands of the day consume their schedule. For ministers, this distinction is absolutely vital. Ministry often presents a constant barrage of urgent needs (emergencies, immediate requests, unexpected meetings). If a minister only responds to the urgent, they will neglect the truly important work of prayer, sermon preparation, and deep discipleship [2].
One of the most subtle and insidious threats to effective prioritization is the proliferation of “good” things that prevent us from pursuing the “best” things.
Consider the account of Mary and Martha in Luke 10:38-42:
“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”
Martha’s work was “good”—hospitality is a biblical virtue. Yet, in that moment, it crowded out the “best” thing: spending time at Jesus’ feet, learning from Him. Her good intentions led to distraction and anxiety.
Lessons for Today’s Christian and Minister: For Christians, this story is a powerful reminder to guard their most precious resource—time—against the encroachment of merely good activities. For ministers, this is a constant battle. Ministry is full of “good” activities (attending every meeting, serving on every committee). However, if these crowd out prayer, sermon preparation, family time, or personal spiritual renewal, the minister will become busy but ineffective [3].
Popularized by Stephen Covey [4], the Eisenhower Matrix is a powerful tool for categorizing tasks:
Quadrant 1: Urgent and Important (Do First)
Crises and pressing deadlines. Goal: Minimize time spent here by proactive planning.
Quadrant 2: Important, Not Urgent (Schedule)
Personal development, strategic planning, and spiritual disciplines. Goal: Maximize time spent here. This is where true effectiveness happens.
Quadrant 3: Urgent, Not Important (Delegate)
Interruptions, some emails, and meetings. Goal: Delegate or minimize.
Quadrant 4: Not Urgent, Not Important (Eliminate)
Time-wasters and trivial activities. Goal: Eliminate.
The ABC Method:
A – Must Do: Critical tasks that must be completed today.
B – Should Do: Important tasks but with less immediate consequences.
C – Could Do: Nice to do if time permits.
Time Blocking: Dedicating specific blocks of time for high-priority tasks.
The “Two-Minute Rule”: If it takes less than two minutes, do it immediately [5].
Amidst the demands of work and ministry, it is easy for crucial relationships and spiritual disciplines to be squeezed out.
Relationships: God, Family, Fellow Believers, and The Lost.
Spiritual Disciplines: Prayer, Bible Study, Worship, Fellowship, and Solitude.
Lessons for Today’s Christian and Minister: A minister who fails to prioritize their relationship with God and their family will eventually burn out or experience moral failure. Modeling healthy prioritization in these areas is a powerful testimony [6].
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