As we have discussed, a talent was a measure of the currency of the time, and this parable specifically addresses how we handle the money we are entrusted with, which is a primary test of our character and spiritual wisdom. However, it is about more than money, rather all of the resources we have been entrusted with, including the spiritual and natural gifts. If we are going to be good, effective managers, we must begin with prioritizing our lives so that most of our time and effort is devoted to the things that are the most important. Let's look at just a few of these.

Priority #1

What is the most important thing in our lives? Certainly this would be our relationship to God. How much of the way we spend our time and energy reflects this being the number one priority in our lives? If our lives do not reflect this, then our number one priority needs to be to get this right. As the Lord warned the church in Ephesus, if we do not keep Him as our first love, we are in jeopardy of being removed from His church (see Revelation 2:1-8).

How do we do this? It is a bit more than just reading our Bibles and praying more, but it will result in the most radical change for good that we can have in our life. It is, therefore, well worth the attention, to say the least. We will cover how we can change this in a way that will last, regardless of how busy we now are.

Priority #2

This would certainly be our families. I Timothy 5:8 should help us put this in its right priority: "But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith, and is worse than an unbeliever." Now we usually interpret this as providing for our families materially, which is important, but that is not nearly as important as providing for them spiritually.

Parents are their children's most important teachers, but that does not mean we need to be their Bible teachers. In fact, boring devotions by parents, who are not good Bible teachers, may do more harm than good for our kids spiritually. However, we do need to be sure that they are in a church and school that is teaching and equipping them right.

Priority #3

This would be the stewarding of our spiritual gifts and ministries, which all Christians have been given. Our inquiries indicate that less than 10 percent of Christians even know their spiritual gifts and callings, and few of these are being equipped to walk in them. How well would you be functioning if only 10 percent of your body was working? This is one of the major reasons why the body of Christ is so ineffective, and is a clear reflection that the ministries given to the church to equip believers, as stated in Ephesians 4, are not doing their job—they are burying their talents, the people! This is one of the most tragic and devastating failures of the leadership of the church, which must be addressed and corrected if the church is ever going to be able to fulfill its purpose.

Priority #4

Other relationships such as neighbors, friends, fellow workers, vendors, etc. need to be a priority because these are people and they have value. Investing in people is more important than investing in stocks, but there are some similarities. For example, if you are wise, you will "buy low and sell high" when it comes to people, just as you would a company's stock.

There is a saying that those who are not successful make friends. The reason for this is that most of our true friends are made before we become successful. After you become successful, it is very hard to separate those who could be true friends from those who just want to use you. I am not saying that this is right, or the way it should be, but it is true. However, if you become the friend of someone who is low or not successful, they will trust you regardless of how successful they become.

Is this not what the Lord did when He came to redeem the world? He invested in us, paid for us, when we were yet in our sin and depravity. This is something we will never forget! This is why we can trust Him and it is also why He will be able to trust us with such great authority. This is why He did not choose those who would be His apostles from among the elite of His nation—but from among those no one else would have probably even considered. There is much more that we need to discuss here when we consider how to invest in people, but for now, learn to buy low!

Priority #5

Our job or profession—because we are exhorted in Ephesians 6:7-8, "With good will render service, as to the Lord, and not to men, knowing that whatever good thing each one does, this he will receive back from the Lord." Therefore, we should do our jobs as worship to the Lord, with all of our hearts.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once said that if we sweep streets, we should sweep them like Michelangelo painted, because if we did this sooner or later, the whole world would beat a path to our door to declare, "Here lives the greatest street sweeper who ever lived." This is true. If you will do your job as unto the Lord, regardless of how you don't like the job, or how unreasonable your boss is, or whether anyone else notices, the Lord will notice, and He will reward you. This is the primary way that Christians are going to start advancing and taking over the key positions in every field.

There are other important things, which we will prioritize, but they will be covered in more detail as we discuss basic time management. For now we need to understand the real important things in our lives—and devote ourselves to them. It is remarkable how many people spend most of their time on the things that they really do not even care about and do not really matter. What is called "the tyranny of the urgent" can rule us if we do not learn to rule. That is what this year's study on the kingdom is all about—learning to rule in this life instead of letting the issues of this life rule over us.

I have laid out a simple outline of life's priorities above. As a simple exercise, try to track this week and write down how much of your life is devoted to these important things, and how much is consumed by things not on the list. To get where you are going, you need to know where you are. There is a wise saying that "IF YOU DO NOT CHANGE YOUR DIRECTION, YOU WILL END UP WHERE YOU'RE HEADED!" Most of us don't want to do that, so this is the year when real change must take place, and it can.