Should God be our first priority?

What if I said I don't think God should be the first priority in your life? Would you label me a heretic? What if I re-phrased it then? What if I said it this way: God should not be the first priority in your life, He should be the lens and relationship in which you make your priorities. What if God was more than just a priority to us? Would it change the way we viewed and lived our very lives?
Think of some common priorities in your life: work, marriage, friends, ministry, girlfriend/boyfriend, school, pets, family, working out, etc. What makes one a priority above the other? Think of what those things require. All of these things require our physical energy, emotional stamina and in some cases spiritual outpour. Didn’t Jesus say that the greatest commandment involved loving the Lord your God with all you heart, with all your soul and with all your mind (Matt 22)? If God is merely a priority how can we do this?

So, what exactly is it that determines which of these is a priority above the other? Take a minute and think about the priorities in your life. Our minds race to try and compute what our priorities are by asking how much time do I spend with this thing or that person, how intentional am I with this or that, how much energy do I extend towards this group of people, how much do I value these different things? Maybe a better question is why do I do those things? If we are honest with ourselves we might start to think “man, my priorities are jacked up”. Why do I place work as such a high priority at the expense of my relationships with people? Maybe it’s because our work is all about us. Or maybe we would ask, why don’t I make him or her a greater priority? Maybe it’s because we don’t want to serve people that much. So where does God fit into all of this? Here is my point: we make these priorities as we see fit. We make them from our own judgment. Think about it, we place God as our #1 priority because we think He should be there, some even think we need to do this in order for our lives to be better. Then we start to make other priorities according to our own wants, desires or even from guilt. Kind of selfish isn’t it? My argument: what if we made our priorities through the lens of our relationship with God rather than through the lens of our own fallen minds? God would then no longer be our first priority, but He would be far above this box we call priorities. Maybe then He would be in His rightful place as Creator, Sustainer, Deliverer, Counselor, Lord and King. Maybe then our priorities might be in order, according to His will and not ours. Would our lives look different then? Maybe our lives would be filled with more love and service of one another. Maybe we would enjoy the messes of life just so we can help others clean them up. Maybe we would be anxious of nothing. Maybe we could trust Him more. Maybe we would no longer make God a simple priority in life, but be hidden in Him (Colossians 3). Maybe we could carry out the greatest commandment a little bit better. Maybe?