Priorities

 

Baptism or Preaching?

“For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel” 1 Cor 1: 17

Paul had a clear conviction of what God wanted him to do in his ministry. He had prioritized preaching the gospel over other things e.g. baptising, based on his understating of God’s will for his life. He was not attempting to do whatever comes his ways, but focused on God’s calling in his life. By saying that ‘preaching’ is his focus, he is not minimizing the role of baptism in ministry. Instead, he says that baptism is not the primary work for which God called him. Though he baptised few (vv. 14-16), he wanted to spend his energy on his primary calling – i.e. to preach the gospel. 

Even Jesus had to face this type of pressure of prioritising in his ministry. Mark tells of one occasion when Jesus went to pray early in the morning, while his disciples came searching for him (Mark 1: 35 – 39). They wanted him to come back to Simon’s house where a huge crowd was waiting to see him. But Jesus had to tell them “Let us go somewhere else – to the nearby villages – so I can preach there also. That is why I have come” (v. 38). No one would find fault with Jesus for ministering to the crowd at Simon’s house, but he was focusing on fulfilling the Will of God for his life and ministry. 

In our ministry and life, we are also presented with so many options. Some options are attractive, shiny and even godly. If we choose that option, no one would say it is bad, but rather they might appreciate it. But the question is not whether it is noble or bad, but whether it is God’s will for our lives or not? It could be difficult and hard work because we might have to discern the Will of God which could be elusive. But that is important. 

We should hone our sense of priorities by understanding our vocation. In many occasions, Satan misleads us by engaging us in noble things which are actually not God’s will for us. Steve Jobs says this when he talks about the success of Apple: “Focus means saying no to the hundred other good ideas that there are. You have to pick carefully. I am actually as proud of the things we haven’t done as the things I have done.” Jobs claims that the success of Apple is because of its focus on what is important and eliminating what is not important, though it is attractive. 

We should cultivate this sense of priorities based on the calling which we received from God. Like Jesus and Paul, we need to set our priorities. We should strive to possess a clear cut vision of what God wants us to do in our lives without expending our energy on other things.