If we were to take a full assessment of how we spend a given day, we’d probably see where our life’s priorities really lie. What do you find that you think about most, or talk about most? What things get you the most excited or heated? What sort of routine have you developed in your daily life? Some of these questions may force us to be brutally honest with ourselves. But they’ll reveal what life goals we strive for the most. We all strive for something, but sometimes we find ourselves striving for some things too much and others too little!
I would imagine Timothy, for example, to be an athletic gym rat—that’s why Paul calls out physical training to him. And to his credit, it’s great to steward the bodies God has given us, and it’s great to chase excellence in that way. But as Paul reminds him, there is something else that is infinitely more valuable, beneficial, and long-lasting: godliness. Our highest priority in life should be godliness; the life goal that we discover behind most (or all!) of our thoughts, words and deeds should be godliness. Keep building those biceps and training those triceps, Timothy, that’s still a worthy discipline; but prioritize godliness first, because it’s a discipline infinitely more worthy.
How about us? What do we find when we take serious stock of our priorities? Recent studies show that we tend to care most about building friendships, maintaining good health, making money, being successful in careers, and having good leisure. All of these are worthy priorities and we should by no means pay less attention to them! But do those goals dominate our life? Or can we say we find ourselves incessantly devoted to imitating Christ and glorifying the Father, more and more every day, to the maximum of our ability? After all, our hope is in Christ, as is a beautiful identity for us and our perfect fulfillment—so why would our highest priority be anything else?
The life of a Christian knows no half-commitments. It is a radical and radically joyous adventure that calls for excitement. We contritely humble ourselves entirely before the Lord, seek always-deeper wisdom by scrutinizing the Scriptures and paying attention to the Word preached, come to understand who we are in Christ and the ministry to which we are called, take on a heart that overflows with love for both God and our neighbors, chase the divine standard of perfect righteousness, and always, always seek to align our minds, hearts and wills more and more with God’s. As Paul tells Timothy, be diligent in these matters, and give yourself wholly to them! It’s a lot, yes. But the life of a Christian is infinitely worth living—nothing else comes close.
