The Main Thing

“What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens, but you ignore the more important aspects of the law—justice, mercy, and faith. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things. —Matthew 23:23 NLT

Earlier this week, I had a deadline I was trying to meet for a project. Unfortunately, I also wanted to head to the nail salon to fix a broken nail of mine. Trips to the nail salon usually take about an hour for me—or an hour and a half on a bad day—but an hour (and a half) is a long time when there are unfinished, time-sensitive affairs one needs to tend to. I wanted to go to the salon, but I also wanted to meet my deadline. Someone heard me complaining about wanting to go to the nail salon. So they asked me, “why don’t you just go do your nails now?” To this I responded, “Because I have to keep the main thing as the main thing.” And that is our topic today: It is so important for us to keep the main thing as the main thing.

As with everything else in life, what would be the purpose of focusing on all the little things related to what we want to accomplish, while neglecting to firstly focus on the main thing? Just for clarity, as soon as I submitted everything I needed to submit for my deadline, I headed straight to the nail salon to handle that minor issue of mine as well. We see that focusing on what is most important does not mean neglecting to focus on everything else. What it means is that we place everything in their proper categories, prioritizing what is most important. Once the most important thing(s) are handled, then there can be time designated for everything else.

In our reference verse today, Jesus probably sounded arguably crass as he harshly critiqued the teachers of religious law. However, this teaching is a sober reminder about the importance of keeping the main thing as the main thing. Jesus was pointing out that there is no point in tithing on even the smallest amount of income while ignoring the more important aspects of the law—justice, mercy, and faith. He said to the teachers of religious law, “you should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the most important things.”

Let us examine what we are exalting as most important in our lives. We can do this by considering what it is that we daily give most of our time and attention to. When you get the chance, try making a list of everything you desire to accomplish. Then, rate these things in the order of their importance. Throughout our days and weeks, let us give higher priority to things on are list that are of most importance and urgency. Give your time to the smaller things on your list after first tackling what is most relevant. In life, it is very important for us to keep the main thing as the main thing.



Lots of Love, XO