Quotes About Priorities

What's the subject of life - to get rich? All of those fellows out there getting rich could be dancing around the real subject of life.

People who equate all the different kinds of human activity to money are taking too primitive a view of things.

Life got in the way -- two years in the army, work, marriage, family responsibilities, the need to earn more and more money, all the muck that bogs us down when we don't have the balls to stand up for ourselves -- but I had never lost my interest in books.

La vida se metió por medio —dos años en el ejército, trabajo, matrimonio, responsabilidades familiares, necesidad de ganar cada vez más dinero, toda esa cagada que nos deja empantanados cuando no tenemos los cojones de luchar por lo que queremos—, pero nunca perdí el interés por los libros.

those men worked in order to live, whereas his father seemed to live in order to work, which meant that his parents' friends were defined more by their enthusiasms than their burdens or responsibilities,

Emily Esfahani Smith talks about the American Freshman Survey, which found that in the late 1960s, 86 percent of respondents claimed that "developing a meaningful life philosophy" was "essential" or "very important," while in the 2000s, the proportion dropped to 40 percent. She is disappointed in this; she sees it as a bad sign.

For many of us, following Jesus in this world will not require literally dying. But it might require downsizing our lifestyle. It might mean taking vacation time to go on a short-term mission trip when we could be just relaxing. In any case, it's all about identifying with Jesus and saying, in light of the Great Salvation, "Jesus, I want to go where you're going and where you want to bring me.

The kingdom of self tends to be more focused on what the hands can touch than what the heart should embrace.

Our obsession with material things brings trouble and heartache into our lives. So we tell ourselves that we'll do better—we commit ourselves for a time to new budgets, we go on temporary diets, we hold garage sales. But none of it lasts for long because deep inside us, we treasure the creation more than we treasure the Creator.

The spiritual reality for many of us is that the one thing is not the Lord. And the danger in that reality is this: your one thing will control your heart, and whatever controls your heart will exercise inescapable influence over your words, choices, and actions. Your one thing will become that which shapes and directs your responses to the situations and relationships of your daily life. If the Lord isn't your one thing, the thing that is your one thing will be your functional lord.

When amazing realities of the gospel quit commanding your attention, your awe, and your worship, other things in your life will capture your attention instead.

What do I really want in life: the success of God's agenda of grace or the fulfillment of my catalog of desires?

The highest paid members of our society are not the people who teach us, heal us, or lead us in worship; the people we are willing to award with inordinate sums of money are the people who entertain us.

We are all capable of fighting for what has little value while forgetting things of transcendent value.

It is so difficult for us to remember and be motivated by what is truly important. It is so tempting to be committed to our little kingdoms that the transcendent kingdom of God is of little functional influence.

For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his own soul?" (Mark 8:36).

you love the gifts and not the Giver, your heart will never be satisfied, but if you love the Giver, your heart will be content and you will be able to enjoy his gifts while keeping them in their proper place.

The desire for the love of another person is not wrong, but it must not rule your heart.

Something as normal as a concern over what others think of me, or what will happen to me if others oppose me, rises to a level of such immediate importance that my actions are more shaped by that concern than they are about the huge and transcendent glories of the life-altering grace of the gospel.

parenting is either a thing of the highest treasure to you, and that is demonstrated in your choices, words, and actions every day, or it's not.

the heart can be captured or ruled by only two things. I'll use Paul's terms. Your heart is always living under the rule of "things that are above" or "things that are on earth.

everything you do and say in your life, every choice that you make, and everything you decide to invest in is a reflection of a system of internalized values in your heart.

Your leadership community is in trouble if your leaders are more excited about a strategic planning meeting than a prayer meeting.

You cannot ask for forgiveness without acknowledging that there is something in life that is more important than the progress of your own kingdom.