Sometimes we need a reminder of what we’re really here for, don’t we?

Many companies know this. Their employees can get so focussed on the little details of their tasks that they lose sight of what their main goal is.

That’s why for many years the auto manufacturer Ford put a large sign on the walls of its factories:

“Quality is Job One.”

An employee might have been helping to assemble the engine, working on the upholstery of the seats, or perfecting the paint finish on the vehicle.

But no matter what their specific task, the sign reminded the workers that their overarching goal was to produce a quality product.

Perhaps we as Christians sometimes need to be reminded what our primary function here on earth is?

We’re often preoccupied with our responsibilities as parents, spouses, business owners, employees, or students. These are all crucial functions, of course, and God has placed each of us as believers in a particular family or role because He has something He wants us to do there.

But we’re sometimes so consumed with the details of our day-to-day lives that we forget about the big picture. We can be so focussed on raising children, climbing the corporate ladder at work, or studying for exams that we risk of losing sight of what a believer’s primary goal actually is.

This is especially true when we tumble down a rabbit-hole of arguing with others. We get caught up in the rightness of our own viewpoints and barrel ahead with pressing our case in the conflict or disagreement.

We often forget what our “Job One” is as believers:

It’s to love God and to show His love to others.

Jesus boiled this down for His followers when they asked Him, “Teacher, which commandment is the greatest in the Law?”

He replied, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’” (Matthew 22:36-39)

There’s a similar distillation of a believer’s purpose in the Old Testament:

“And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8 NIV)

Perhaps we need to press “pause” on occasion during the day and reassess our behaviours to make sure that our “Job One” is truly governing our actions and attitudes.

Are we putting God’s priorities first in the way we spend our time and money, or our own?

Are we showing mercy and love to others by cutting them a bit of slack instead of being quick to take offence?

Are we showing God we value and love Him by spending time each day with Him in prayer and reading His word?

As Paul said in 2 Corinthians 5:9, “So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it.”

Whatever we do, we should aim every day to demonstrate to our Heavenly Father that we love Him, and to mirror Christ to a broken world.

That’s our “Job One”!

Let love be your highest goal!

1 Corinthians 14:1 NLT

© 2021 Lori J. Cartmell. All rights reserved.