The Main Thing

Keep the main thing the main thing. Stephen Covey popularized this adage to encourage us to get our priorities right. Our highest priority, the most important main thing in life as a Christian is our faith and trust in Jesus Christ so that we may have eternal life. 

The world–Wall Street and advertisers–tell us different. They bombard us with messages about what we need to do and what we need to have to be thought well of in society. They tell us that we don’t yet have enough of what we need to be happy and successful. We don’t yet have enough to feel secure. And so, we worry and fret and strive to accumulate more stuff and grow our bank accounts.

Jesus offers us an alternative approach to find security and satisfaction. He invites us into the kingdom of God where God promises us lavish abundance, inexhaustible treasure. The price of admission is to sell our belongings and give alms. We read about this in Luke 12:33-34. Selling off assets to then turn around and give the proceeds away demands that we be detached from our stuff. This frees us to give alms to supply the needs of the poor, thus honoring God with our wealth. Detachment requires trust. This is how we demonstrate our faith and trust in God. 

This is counter cultural. It sounds scary. But take courage. Jesus tells us in verse 32, “Do not be afraid any longer.” We can trust Him. Trust comes from faith, faith in Jesus–the main thing.. 

Are you ready to accept Jesus’s invitation to buy that ticket to that inexhaustible treasure? If not, is your hesitation that your heart is not really in it? That’s okay, give alms anyway. Put your treasure where God can use it to help the poor, because where you put your treasure, there is your heart.

Photo Credit: Robert Davis

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