Articles From Our Bulletins
Put God First, and the Brethren Second?
There are plenty of passages that teach us that God must occupy the position of prominence in our lives. We take such passages to mean that He must have preeminence in our:
- Affections, Matthew 22:36-37, “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law? And He said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’”
- Devotions, Matthew 4:10, “Then Jesus said to him, ‘Begone, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.’”
- Efforts, Matthew 6:33, “But seek first His kingdom, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you.”
Such is certainly true, right, and proper in every regard, and multitudes of sermons have been given emphasizing and expounding upon these principles. And yet, it is also true that knowing and under-standing these principles is not the same as living them. We (Christians) tend to put God at the top of our mental “to do” list for the week, and then check Him off after we’ve attended Sunday morning services. So? The major problem, and there are others, is that we then tend to think the rest of the week is ours to be devoted to numbers two through and fol-lowing on our list with little or no regard for God and spiritual matters. In our minds, we’ve already checked Him off the list by attending Sunday morning! Surely this is not what these passages indicate.
Instead of a sequential list with God in the number one position, try prioritizing this way. Consider an old-time wagon wheel- you know, the kind with a hub in the center and spokes running out the edge. Think of this wheel as representing our week (or life), and the “partitions” created in the spaces between the spokes as the things we want to accomplish. Now we can allow God to be the “hub” in the center from which everything else emanates. With this model, God is at the center of and determines all our other activities and priorities. Thus, He is first in our affections, devotions, and efforts because every-thing else is subservient to Him in our lives.
Now, consider the second part of our title. Even if we acknowledge God’s neces-sary preeminence, in mind if not always in practice, we seldom think about the im-plications of the second part of Jesus’ answer to the lawyer in Matthew 22. After emphasizing the necessity of proper love for God in v.37, He then added, “And the second is like it, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” v.39. There is no doubt that Jesus meant “mankind” in general, and “community” perhaps more specifically as the definition of “neighbor.”
But, do these designations exclude our spiritual “brethren”? We are to love one another, 1 John 3:11. “So?” Think about it and answer for yourself: are your “brethren” really in “second place” only to God in your life? Do we love them more than all else save God? We’re tempted to quickly retort with pride and zeal, “My family comes second to God!” Is that the example Jesus left for us? Consider Matthew 12:46-50. When Jesus was told that His biological “family” was seeking to speak to Him but could not because of the assembled crowds, how did He respond? Note vv.49-50, “And stretching out His hand toward His dis-ciples, He said, ‘Behold My mother and My brothers! For whoever shall do the will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My brother and sister and mother.’” Do you feel this way about your “brethren”?
While I may be stretching the point of Matthew 22:39 by applying it so specifically to “brethren,” is that ap-plication really any different from Romans 12:10, “Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor,”? Wouldn’t such devotion to our brethren in Christ be a necessary precursor to our love and devotion to those of our “neighbors” outside the Body?
If we truly love and are devoted to our brethren in such a way as to put them second only to God, how will that impact our congregation? “Tremendously” and “positively” are the answers! We will think of them before self in determining how we feel towards, speak to, and treat one another. We will be more con-cerned with their encouragement than our own selfish desires, or those of our non-Christian physical fami-lies, when it comes to attendance and participation in worship. It will also change our prayer life to be more specific with regard to the spiritual well-being of our brethren than our own physical needs, cf. Philippians 2:3. It will make us “brethren” in all that the word is supposed to imply!
What do these things mean? How should it affect us?
1) Put God at the center of your life, and let Him be the “hub” from which everything else is determined and pursued.
2) Put your “brethren in Christ” second only to God in your love, devotion, and preference.
Think about it, please.
