Is Your Faith as Important to You As You Say It Is?

As Christians, we know we’re supposed to make God our number one priority. It’s all throughout the Bible.

 Is Your Faith as Important to You As You Say It Is?

In Exodus 20:3 (the very first of the Ten Commandments), God commands us:

You shall have no other gods before me.

 

And in Luke 14:26, Jesus tells us:

If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple.

(Not that we should literally hate our families. But that – compared to Jesus – nothing else should even be close.)

 

This is nothing new. We know this.

But do we DO this?

 

Unfortunately, for most of us, we like the idea of putting God first, but we don’t actually put it into practice in real life. We say we put God first. But our actions don’t reflect it. (myself included)

 

So, is your faith as important to you as you say it is? Are you striving to be a Godly woman? Ask yourself these four questions to find out:

 

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1. Where Do You Spend the Majority of Your Free Time?

 

Whether you work outside the home or you spend your days caring for little ones, chances are a lot of your day is taken up by things you don’t have a lot of control over. And as much as you may want to read your Bible, learn how to study your Bible, and pray for five hours straight – that just isn’t really practical.

 

But what about your free time after work, when the kids are sleeping or on the weekends? How do you spend that time? 

 

Do you go to church, meet up with friends for Bible study or go see the latest Christian movie because it looks really good? Do you invite your neighbors over for Sunday dinner in hopes of forming relationships and eventually sharing the gospel with them? Do you regularly read websites for Christian women or Christian blogs for women to help yourself grow in faith? Do you listen to Christian YouTubers or Christian podcasts for women?

Do you teach Sunday School, help out at a non-profit or get involved in various community service projects around your town? Do you read Christian Living books to help you grow in faith, hang out on Christian websites (like this one!), or at least listen to Christian radio as you go about your chores?

Or are you too busy with other commitments? Like running your kids around to a crazy number of activities or plopping down on the couch to watch TV shows and movies that aren’t quite as wholesome as you’d like.

 

Now please hear me, I’m not saying you can never watch TV or take your kids to activities. But think about how you spend the majority of your free time. Where do you spend the majority of your time? What things do you really look forward to? What do they say about where your true priorities lie?

 

2. How Do You Spend Your Money?

 

Just like with your time, the way you spend your money says a lot about your priorities as well. And while you may not be able to use ALL of it for God (you do have to pay the mortgage), you probably have a lot more financial flexibility than you think.

Look at your bank account or credit card statement – or even just around your house at all your stuff – and ask yourself: Where does your money go?

 

Do you tithe every week? Do you donate regularly to various missions, non-profits and organizations? If so, which ones? When is the last time you actively sought out someone who was struggling and found a way to make a difference in their life?

What things are you willing to splurge on? Which purchases do you have to rationalize? For example, maybe you routinely buy your children more and more toys – even though they already have more than they know what to do with. Or maybe you love shoes… or coffee… or Target. You can easily spend more than you mean to.

But what about when it comes to buying Christian living books, giving to those in need or attending Christian women’s conferences? Are you still so excited to hand over your money to support a good cause? Do you get excited about your Christian subscription box that shows up every month?

Or do you suddenly decide you can’t afford it (when you know you really could)? Or you decide you don’t really need it… (even though you’ll probably just spend the money on something else you don’t really need). Honestly, you’d really rather just hoard all your money for yourself so you can chase the American dream.

 

Again — not saying you can never buy toys or throw pillows or shoes. You absolutely can. And it’s not up to me to tell you how to spend your money – that’s between you, your husband and God. Just something to think about.

 

3. What Topics Do You Talk About All the Time?

 

When you and your girlfriends get together – what do you talk about? Your husbands, kids, hobbies, chores…? TV shows? Celebrity gossip or gossip about friends and family? Or do you share what God is working on in your life right now?

Do you regularly share your struggles and pray for each other, or would that be too “weird?” Have you made sure to surround yourself with Christian friends who will encourage and support you when you’re struggling?

What about your Facebook feed (if you have one)? What do you typically post about? Funny things your kids did? Political rants? Complaints about work? Cat memes? Do you follow and interact with any Christian Facebook groups and pages (like mine)? If not, what pages are you following instead?

Do you ever talk about your faith with your husband or your children? Or is it just day-to-day stuff?

Again, something to think about.

 

*Related: Three Warning Signs That Social Media is Hurting Your Faith

 

4. What Criteria Do You Use When Making Decisions?

 

Imagine your husband comes up to you tonight. There’s a big event coming up in a few weekends, and he wants to know if you’re interested. It’s a big enough decision that you have to think about it for a bit before you give your answer.

What do you think about?

Do you consider how much it will cost? Do you consider how much time it will take or if you are even available that weekend? Do you consider the other people who will be there and how much you enjoy their company? Probably, and you should.

But do you even stop to think about it from a faith perspective? Do you consider how your faith might be affected as a result – either positively or negatively? Do you consider if you’ll have opportunities to share the gospel or encourage others in their faith? Do you pray about it – either to ask guidance or to express thanks and excitement? Does it even cross your mind?

 

The truth is, Putting God First in your life means putting God first in ALL areas of your life — time, money, conversation and decision-making included. And these are just four examples.

It isn’t enough to just give God one hour on Sunday and call yourself good for the week. Putting God first means making God your #1 priority and centering your life around Him. Not just parts of your life – but all of them.

 

So… Do you have some things to work on? Yeah, me too. We all do.

The life God calls us to isn’t easy. Luke 14:33 tells us, “In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.”

That’s serious. And scary. And really, really hard.

But worth it.

 

Ready to get started? Read this one next: 

 

 Is Your Faith as Important to You As You Say It Is?

 

What areas of your life are you really good at putting God first in? What areas of your life still need improvement?

 

14 Comments

  1. Excellent points, Brittany. Thank you for making me take stock of how I’m living out my faith. Still a work in progress, but thank God there is progress. One area I especially benefit from is serving the poor through my parish kitchen in the inner city. An area I need to work on is being more generous with my resources. Blessings to you and your family, Brittany.

    1. So glad you took the time to do a little self-assessment. We all always have room for improvement, but we never can til we know where those areas are 🙂

  2. Hi, Brittany,

    I liked the article. I have been striving to center my life around Christ so I could answer affirmatively to the questions. I go to church, three Bible studies a week, 2 prayer meetings a month, and volunteer at four different places. I don’t have many people I get to talk to other than on Sundays and my studies, but people can’t be my friend without hearing about God because he’s the most important person in my life. One area I need to work on is being OK with never having been married at 64. That remains a challenge for my faith. Thanks for have this blog, Brittany. Blessings to you.

  3. I was attending a great church regularly, had three ministries there, and gave what money I had to the church. I was very happy to evangelize. However, about a month ago I relocated from New England to a Southern state (717 miles away…alone) leaving all that behind. Everyone I meet identifies as Christian but not a single person I have met attends church, reads their Bible, or prays. Not even one. Nobody here seems to have a true relationship with God. They turn away no matter how gently I talk to them about the truth. It’s made for a very lonely transition. I’ll admit that I feel a little lost right now because I was doing most (not all) things in this article but now I’m not able to. I felt like a true servant of Christ and now I feel useless. However, I’m using this down time to strengthen my own relationship with our Father. More prayer, more reading, more talking to Him. Definitely more relying on His perfect leadership. So for the time being I will rely on my faith and not my feelings!

      1. I honestly thought it would be easy to find a church in a town full of Christian people. I guess I expected someone to invite me to church which would create new friendships and provide fellowship. That hasn’t been the case at all. I’m missing church terribly but feel held back somehow. I was saved in 2015 & have only known one church. Attending a new church alone in a new town is very intimidating! Especially with my limited experience. All churches here are Baptist (which is fine) but I’m Pentecostal. I’m not sure what the differences are. I’m afraid I won’t recognize a false church. I was led to the last church… every time I drove past I KNEW I’d attend that church one day even though I wasn’t saved yet. I haven’t felt led to any church around here and frankly I don’t know where to start. Nobody I’ve met goes to church so there haven’t been any recommendations or invitations as a starting point. What I can say is that I fully trust God to lead me to the right place at the right time. I have no doubt that there is a purpose to all this that I’m being prepared for. God will reveal His purpose in His own perfect timing and I trust Him completely! So for now I will use this time to become even closer to God. Who knows, maybe that’s what this moment is all about. Thank you for reaching out and for all you do! It’s been a wonderful learning experience!

      2. Yeah, making friends isn’t easy. You really have to be intentional about it and brave enough to put yourself out there.

        I grew up Baptist. It isn’t a terrible church, but I don’t necessarily agree with everything they teach there.

        Are there ANY Pentecostal churches in your area? Have you scoured the phone book? Even if you had to drive a bit, it would probably be worth it to find a really good church that would feel like home so you could start getting plugged in and meeting people.

    1. Dear Karen, I really feel for you in your lonely times. I have been there too, living in new communities and trying to get to meet and know people fully in their familiar environment. Give it time. Unfortunately, people will only show you what they want to show you, until they really get to know you. Take this time to really be with God and live in His Presence and then start to invite one or two people into your home and leave verses and literature, along with artworks of your faith lying around on tables and your walls and these hopefully will be conversation starters. Ask them about their church and where they grew their faith. Be patient! Ask them if they would be willing to do Bible study with you in your home. Just be pleasant and friendly. Don’t pounce on them or they may feel threatened. The worst they can say is “No I won’t come.” but see if they would be happy for you to pray for them. I’m sure they will grow in their courage because of your strength.

  4. Your article sucks, I mean really sucks. It made me think of what I was saying against what I was actually doing. I guess Jesus said it also, there is a difference between saying with the lips and acting on what those lips are saying.
    I don’t like rebuke, although you do not come right out and rebuke, your article cuts to the core of peoples hypocrisy, my hypocrisy of saying and proclaiming one thing while doing another. Good job, keep up the good work and thanks for throwing that out there and reminding me to re-examine myself and see if I am really in relationship with Christ or just mouthing the buzz words of Christians.
    Gotta get my act together.

    1. Um… thanks? I think? Hope that you are able to really get honest with yourself and God and make any changes you may need to make (Something we ALL need to do regularly!)

      1. Not every one who visits your site or reads your posts are women. It does not matter where or by whom I get edified by the spirit as long as I get edified. I took over reading your posts after my wife died of cancer, she got help and encouragement from you and who’s to say I won’t?

      2. I never said anything about you being a man. Men are more than welcome here, and I’m glad you are getting a lot out of it! (And so sorry for your loss 🙁 )

        Was just confused when your comment began “Your article sucks, I mean really sucks… “

  5. Many many years ago I stopped attending church for this reason. I knew there were areas of my life that I would turn over to God. I struggled with the hypocracy I saw people being one way on Sunday but another every other day of the week. Knowing I wasn’t willing to live my life completely as God directed I didn’t want to be as I called it a “Sunday Christian”. I still struggle with the pot calling the kettle black while knowing we are all sinners, me included. I am an older divorced woman w/o children, I just recently found your site. I’m realizing though it is really geared towards women who are wives and mothers with families.

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