SETTING THE RIGHT PRIORITIES
By: Charles A. Schneider
Educational Consultant
LifeWay Christian School Resources
615-251-5042
cschnei@lifeway.com
I could not begin to list the valuable lessons that God has taught me over the past 34 years that I have served Him as an educator. Many were learned quickly and with ease while others were learned slowly and painfully, but all, when applied, made a difference in my life. One of the most important lesson I learned came as a result of realizing that because I served a God of balance and order that my life and ministry would be most productive when balance and orderliness characterized who I was and what I did.
As a school administrator for 27 years, I found that my every waking moment could easily be consumed by school business, activity and events. The harder I worked to be the best leader I could be for Jesus, the more exhausted and stressed I became. I often found myself less interested in the real needs of people than I was in the business of running a good school. My spiritual life was controlled more by need than it was by a passion to develop an intimate relationship with Christ. My wife and children got whatever time and energy was left over.
All of this began to change as God taught me the importance of getting my life priorities in the right order. It was obvious that He wants us to experience joy in our relationships and service not exhaustion and stress. The following are the three lessons that I learned that helped to transform my family and leadership styles:
Our first priority must always be that of developing a deep, personal, intimate, relationship with Christ. If my heart's desire is to serve Him than I must develop a life style that is committed to knowing Him. As a Christian husband, father and leader I had to consciously, on a daily basis, choose to make Him preeminent in my life. Scripture passages that helped me are: Deuteronomy 6:5-6; Psalm 42:1-2; Matthew 6:33; Philippians 3:7-14.
Secondly, I learned that it was essential that I not neglect my wife and children because I was pouring all my time and energy into helping the families and children in the school. Our second priority must be one of loving and supporting our spouse and children. Give them quality time and constantly reaffirm, by our words and actions our unconditional love for them. Scripture texts that has been valuable to me in this context are: Matthew 19:4-6; Ephesians 5: 25-31; Deuteronomy 6:6-7; Psalm 127:3-5; Ephesians 6:4.
Finally, after recognizing the importance of balance in the above areas it became easier for me to fulfill my role as an educational leader, to be actively involved in ministry without the exhaustion and stress that came whenever my life lacked balance. A commitment to make Christ first in my life led to a new sense of joy and purpose in my relationship with my wife and family and a heightened sense of power, purpose and direction in my ministry.
The real lesson learned was
the ability to recognize when my life was out of balance, to quickly see
the negative consequences that arose from the imbalance and to quickly
stop, evaluate and get my priorities in the right order.
For more information e-mail pyoung@christianschooladmin.com
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