What is First?

"One of the most salient features of our culture
is that there is so much bullshit"

~Harry Frankfurt~

Before you think I'm in a funk,
& angry with the world...
please realise that this is quite biblical!

In Philippians 3:8 it says...
"What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ"

That word "rubbish" in bold,
is skubala in Greek.
& is politely translated as "refuse", "dung" or "rubbish"
But in fact, it is EVEN more offensive!
It refers to nastiness & decay,
it is a coarse, ugly, violent word implying
worthlessness, uselessness & repulsiveness!

In a culture where people are talking about...
things they know nothing about...
where skepticism flourishes,
& the possiblity to know objective truth is denied.

Where the tendency is to accept something as true,
not because it is rational,
but rather because it feels good
& fits with or confirms our prejudices.

"It is this lack of connection to a concern for the truth,
this indifference to how things really are,
that I regard as the essence of of bullshit"
~Harry Frankfurt~

I feel that we live in a culture of false seductions,
where what is virtuous, right, pure & true...
is replaced by the profane, wrong, filthy & false...

Our view & the value of Love then changes & melds with the times...
it becomes conditional, situational, momentary, unfaithful...
we strip from the very word...the intense meaning within,
& we leave a shell of empty sensations...a void...
one that we try to fill with what we can find...
be they people, pleasures, thoughts or desires.

"Look what a mess we've made of love."
Switchfoot, "Ammunition"

No wonder, eventhough Christ came to die for us,
we fail to recognise such divine love,
& we fight tooth & nail to reject what is contrary to our senses,
we CANNOT believe that someone, GOD, would do this for us...
that He would give His greatest & best, for such as us...
But...it's precisely because it is counter to our nature...
that proves that it IS God!

And when we do...
God can begin to transform us,
from within...with His Love

"The life of Saint Augustine has special appeal
because he was a great sinner
who became a great saint"
~R.S.Pine-Coffin~
Introduction to Confessions



*Love the violin intro! & the cresendo
this song never fails to send tingles through me*

YET...for me,
There is One can bring a Joy deeper than this...

C.S.Lewis puts it this way...
"You can't get 2nd things by putting them 1st;
you can only get 2nd things only by
putting 1st things 1st."

(*I broke some literary rules above when i put numbers in there,
instead of spelling it out but they serve to illustrate this point much better!)

What is your heart captivated by, friend?
What is FIRST in your life?
I fancy that not many people read this blog anymore...
but yeah...this is as much a reflection as it is a challenge!

I've decided to put God first all the time,
& sometimes that means I surrender my desires,
sometimes other things take God's place...
& I have to painfully give them up...

Sometimes I forget Who is first,
then I ignore when He prompts me,
the restoration process gets rocky,
but the supreme Joy of seeing Him back as First...
is always...ALWAYS...worth it!

It is a journey,
a process, but it is worth it...

When was the last time you told God you Loved Him?
When was the last time His Love overwhelmed you?
When did you last experience His Grace, Mercy & Forgiveness?
When was the last time you bowed your knees in awe of Your King,
the Lamb who came to be your Living Sacrifice.
I feel deeply & I felt it again today...so unexpectedly...
but fully surrendering to it all...felt...wonderful =D



First things First always...

Then Second can have its place...
We have to love things in the right order
& in the right magnitude