Living to eat or eating to live

Living to eat and eating to live are two everyday phrases commonly used by all.  At the outset, it may look like they are not much different since we all have to eat, no matter what!  But there is a world of difference between the two phrases.  When we say living to eat, the focus is on eating, and when we say eating to live, the focus is on living!  The question is, what drives us?  Is it the desire to eat good food all the time or eat what is needed to live a healthy life?  Consider what drives us.  Is it the desire to please God or do what we have to do somehow or the other?  How we do things or what we do shows what we consider as the essential thing in our life.  Living as followers of Christ also has to be understood like that.  

When the exiles returned to Jerusalem under the leadership of Ezra, their focus was to rebuild the Temple (Ezra 4).  The Temple represented the heart and soul of the Old Testament religion.  When their Samaritan neighbors threatened the workers, the work came to a halt, and for sixteen years, the unfinished building stood as a reminder of the Jews' failure to take care of God's house.  The Temple in ruins was a testimony of their misplaced priorities.  At this juncture, God sent the prophet Haggai to motivate them.  Haggai's message was one of priority,  putting God first.  Haggai wrote to people like us, who would say that God must be first but do things in our own way!  The people lived with misplaced priorities.  Jesus knew everyone was always bothered about what to eat and what to wear.  That is why Jesus said, "… seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you" (Matthew 6:33).  Even though we have our earthly tasks and jobs, living for Christ in obedience to His Word should be our focus and the driving force in life.  

My friend, when we say God is the priority in our lives, we cannot live as we like or like everyone else.  Whatever we have to do, we have to think of what Jesus would do in that situation and do it that way.  Our desire to live in obedience to God shows that Jesus is the priority in life!  When we choose to live with that focus, God will add all other things according to His promise! 

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