Where Do Your Priorities Lie?

When I went to the grocery store yesterday, I saw a car parked like this:

Granted, the car I saw was probably a lot more expensive than this one, but that only leads me to question all the more: Where do your priorities lie?

This guy (or girl) clearly knows one thing that is important in their life. They are willing to be a complete jerk taking up four spaces in a grocery store parking lot in order to avoid getting their pretty little car scratched. I wonder why they even bothered taking it out of the garage if they were so paranoid. What are you that protective of?

Let me answer the question first. For better or worse, I think my top priority right now is my son. I don't like ever having him out of my sight. As much as I complain about dealing with him all day on my own, I love holding him and cuddling with him, especially when he is asleep. My life has been scheduled around him since the day he was born and I love him more than anything or anyone else.

Before you start applauding my priorities, there's a lot of very wise people who say you should put your spouse first. The most important thing that the baby needs is a happy, stable home.

There are even wiser people who say that God should still come absolutely first. I'm reminded of Abraham's near sacrifice of Isaac. That story bugged me even before I had a kid. Now that I'm a parent, it bothers me even more. What kind of parent would even think to do such a thing? And he's supposed to be one of our role models (see Romans 4)? And what kind of God requests that?

The Sacrifice of Isaac by Caravaggio

To keep my sanity, I try to concentrate on the fact that God stopped him. Child sacrifice was not unheard of in ancient times, so such a request would not be a revolting to Abraham as it is to me. It is a very important political statement that God stops him. The God of Abraham does not want human sacrifice like the pagan gods did. So it becomes more of a statement of Abraham's loyalty and trust than of madness.

Putting God first is sometimes painful and almost always hard. We like to look for instant gratification, but putting God first will make us happier in the long run. It will make us happier not only in the life to come, but in this life too as we live a life unattached to stuff and with a clean conscience.

Sounds like a good deal to me, and I don't get to come across as a jerk taking up 4 spaces in the grocery store lot. Man, I wanted to key that car.

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