If I told you to make a list of five things that are important in life, what would you pick? Would you start your list with your family, your home and your job? How many of you put God down for the first thing that is important in life?
If you are reading this blog, more than likely you know who God is. One of the things that happen when we start thinking about life is that we tend to forget about God. All of us find ourselves living in the moment when we are dealing with our daily schedules. How often do you stop during the day and include God in what you are doing? I am not just talking about when you need his help. What about all of the times when everything is going great, do you ask for his guidance? Do you find yourself being thankful when things go your way?
I was watching a video on YouTube about the explanation of life. The man on the video took an empty jar and filled it up with golf balls. The jar represents our life. When the golf balls reached the top of the jar, he asked his audience if the jar was full. The audience replied yes. Next, the man added rocks to the jar with the golf balls. The rocks were about the size of Skittles and filled the small voids between the golf balls. Again he asked the audience if the jar was full and again they replied yes. Next, he filled the jar with sand. The sand filled in the remaining holes between the golf balls and rocks. Again he asked the audience if the jar was full and the audience replied yes. Lastly, he poured a cold drink in the jar until the liquid filled the jar.
What is important in life according to this illustration?
The man explained that the golf balls represented what was important in life. These are big things like God, your family, and friends. The rocks represented semi important things like food, your car, your home. Sand represented the small trials that you face in your life. More than likely you won't remember these things a month from now.
One of the biggest problems many people face is they get their priorities in the wrong order. If you fill the jar with sand first, you cannot put anything else in. This means small things consume your life and you do not have time for the important things like God and family. Filling your life with rocks allows you to add small thing just fine. What happens is that you still do not leave time for what is important. Only when you put the golf balls in the jar first, do you have time for what is important.
What does the liquid represent?
No matter what you fill your life with, golf balls, rocks or sand, you can still find time to drink a cold one. I guess if you are struggling with an addiction, you could fill your jar with liquid and not have time for anything else. You end up not even caring about the small things. All you end up doing is filling up your jar with liquid.
Where does God fit in your jar? Is he like the golf ball in the demonstration where he goes in first? Is your family golf ball sized as well? What consumes the most of your life is where you find happiness. If you find your life consumed with things or trials, you should take the time to reflect on your life. How do you spend your time and what do you value. If you value God and your family but do make them a center of your life with prayer and time, are they a priority?
Matthew 6:33 NASB But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.