When was the last time you thought about what was most important in your life? It will likely be no surprise that no matter what your state of life the Church strongly suggests that you make God your first priority. But what should be number 2, or number 3, etc.? So many good things compete for our attention. Parents, children, family, spouse, friends, ourselves, strangers in need.

If God is our first priority then what order would He have us place the others?

If you are unmarried I recommend that the order be God, parents, family, friends, others, self.

When you enter into marriage that order changes to God, spouse, children, parents, family, friends, others, self.

When I tell this to couples in our marriage prep program, sometimes one or both think that the children should come before the spouse. Usually the reasoning is that the children need them more and the spouses can take care of themselves.

My answer to that is simply that the best thing that you can do for your child is to love your spouse like crazy. So by putting your spouse above them you really are doing what is best for them. Now there is certainly a difference between a need and a want. If your spouse wants you to make them a sandwich and little Johnny just broke his arm and needs to go to the Urgent Care; I’m not saying you should make the sandwich first. Needs always come before wants.

If you follow this order when you get married it is important to realize that your parents go from number 2 to number 3, behind your spouse, and number 4, behind your children. This can be quite difficult for some parents to understand and deal with. Be patient and loving until they get the hang of it.

Sometimes I feel a little sorry for myself. At best I’m number 6 on my own or even number 8. That is until I think about the fact that I am #2 on my wife’s list, #2 on my kids list, #3 on my parent’s list and most importantly #1 on God’s list. Everyone is #1 on God’s list.

Do your priorities line up with the one’s suggested above? It’s a good idea to make sure you are on the right track now and then. I need to refocus all the time.

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