September 16, 2024
To me, the idea of “first things first” has always made beautiful sense. Therefore, one might ask, “Just what is the first thing I should do?” There is one act that eclipses all other things in importance that one might possibly do on earth, and it must be done while living on earth. And that one most important of all things is trusting Jesus Christ as Savior through sincere belief in Him as God and in calling on Him for salvation. Nothing a man can possibly do can begin to compare in importance to that one thing. Therefore it needs to be done first of all while one has the opportunity, because death ends the opportunity forever.
After doing the most important of all acts, the next thing is to get wisdom in order to live a good, decent, and enjoyable life on earth. God tells us in Proverbs 2:6, “For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding.” He adds in Proverbs 3:13, “Happy is the man who finds wisdom, and the man who gains understanding.” So, how do we find wisdom? The first proverb tells us. It is from God’s mouth. And what He has said to us, from His mouth, is recorded in His Word, the Holy Bible. Read and study it if you want to find wisdom.
True wisdom, however, is not only elusive, it is something no wise person ever feels he has attained. Why? Every truly wise person knows how foolish he has been on occasion in the past and how foolish he is liable to be in the future. Wise people know they are not “good,” because God has declared it in Romans 3:10, as well as in Psalms 14 and 53. Jesus Himself said, “No One is good but One, that is God” (Luke 18:19).
Truly wise people not only genuinely believe and trust in Christ, they try to grow in their Christianity. They want to be good children of God. And they are burdened for unbelievers, so that they witness for the Lord by sharing the Gospel message with them. They want to please the Lord, and He said those who love Him are obedient to what He commands.
A scribe once asked Jesus what the greatest commandment was. His answer is what we call the Great Commandment. Jesus told him he must love God first and foremost and his neighbor as himself (Mark 12:30-31). To love God is, again, to practice obedience to what Christ has commanded us. This is not easy. It takes prayer and dependence on the Holy Spirit. When we are tempted to sin, we should always “Take it to the Lord in prayer.” We should always ask for God’s help. He will gladly help us, not only to resist sin, but to do anything and everything whenever we ask for His help. We need to depend on Him and watch the marvelous results. I advise my congregation to stop and pray about any and all temptation they might experience. I advise them to always, “Pray first.” God has promised we will not be tempted beyond what we can handle (1 Corinthians 10:13). And He has promised to help us do things whenever we ask.
If anyone does the things listed above, he will not only live forever in heaven, he will also have a much better and more joyful life on earth. He will not be immune to problems and troubles while on earth, but he will know that the Holy Spirit is always in his heart to help, comfort, and counsel him.
___
Ralph Fudge is the pastor of Big Ochlocknee Baptist Church in Coolidge, Ga., and has a Master’s degree in theology from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.
