You Lucky Ducks

My loyal readers on here are going to get a sneak peek of the topic I'm putting up at my other blog next week. :) I like working ahead.

I was at church yesterday and I noticed that there was a part of me that wanted to get my wife's attention during praise and worship. I had interrupted her during her devotions that morning, not without good reason, but also not without ulterior motive. I was asking her an important question then, but also wanted her attention as well as an answer.
I thought about this once I realized what I was doing and came up with an answer. When you're seeking your value in something outside of God, it will never be enough to be important. You have to be the most important. I know full well that my wife loves me more than she even loves herself. More than she loves her family. More than she loves the little boys she was a nanny to for a couple years. I am the most important person in her life, without question. I know that. Yet that wasn't enough because someone other than me was getting attention during praise and worship.
I stopped myself after just brushing my hand over her shoulder, but even that was me trying to take her attention away from God and tell me by her attention that I was more important.
There are two parts to this: the first is that if you get your value from your work, from your spouse, from your looks, or anything outside of God, you'll not only have no peace, but you'll be trying to be #1 in the eyes of everyone from whom you're getting value. Being good won't be enough, especially when it seems you're being forgotten for the moment.
The second part is that other people are doing the same to you. It's why you need to be rock-solid in your priorities, especially having your relationship with God first. Your spouse might get offended at being left alone for a while each day, but your time with God should come first.
Not only do you have to guard your heart, you have to recognize what these people are doing and why. They're (usually) not trying to take you away from your relationship with God. They're simply starving for their self-worth to be affirmed, and that means trying to be deemed very important to you whenever they're around. Keep your time with your Father, but after that, help others to find their worth in Him. Once they do, they won't have to seek it from others and their soul can finally be satisfied. (Proverbs 27:7).