156 Sermon Illustrations on Priorities

What would cause a superb Major League Baseball player to walk away from the game — and a big pile of money? God only knows.

In March [2016], Major League Baseball player Adam LaRoche shocked the sports world. LaRoche, a 12-year veteran who averaged more than 20 home runs a year and won many awards for his defensive skills at first base, unexpectedly retired.

By doing so, he walked away from $13 million — the amount left on the final year of a two-year contract with the Chicago White Sox.

Even more shocking than leaving $13 million on the table was the reason he did so: The White Sox had informed LaRoche that his 14-year-old son, Drake, could no longer accompany him in the club house every day.

If you can’t imagine walking away from that kind of money for that kind of reason, you’re not alone.

But then again, a lot of what LaRoche does is peculiar, and I mean that in the best possible way.

It’s fair to say that most of those who commented on his decision, which in the age of social media means practically everyone with access to the Internet, were critical of LaRoche’s decision to put his ideas about being a good father ahead of his team and his teammates.

Not that it matters to LaRoche. He told ABC news that “I have zero regrets.” While he admitted to being angry with the White Sox at first, he added that their actions made his decision to retire easier. As he put it, “I don’t want to be defined by this game. I know there’s a lot more to life.”

Well, this understanding that there’s a lot more to life is why Tim Keown of ESPN wrote in his profile of LaRoche, “You need to forget everything you think you know about professional athletes. Adam LaRoche is different.”

Part of the difference, as LaRoche’s comments suggest, is that he’s not consumed by the sport, despite being the son of one major leaguer and the brother of another. He has other interests, chief among them his Christian faith and his family. It’s why Drake, who attends regular school in the off-season and is home-schooled in the spring quarter, accompanied his dad to the ballpark every day.

It’s why, when LaRoche played for the Washington Nationals and the Chicago White Sox, he and other teammates sponsored “Faith Days” in 2014 and 2015.

And most of all, it’s why LaRoche and Milwaukee Brewers’ pitcher Blaine Boyer spent ten days last November working undercover in Southeast Asian brothels trying to rescue underage sex slaves.

Yes, you heard me right. LaRoche and Boyer, working with a group called Exodus Road and at great personal risk, used a hidden camera to identify trafficked girls — known only by a number pinned to their bikinis — and also their bosses.

As Boyer told Keown, “Something huge happened there for us ... Adam and I truly believe God brought us there and said, ‘This is what I have for you boys.’” On the flight home LaRoche turned to Boyer and said, “What are we doing? We’re going back to play a game for the next eight months?”

Upon his return from Asia, LaRoche was haunted by what he had seen and by the fact that it was going on while he lay safely in his bed.

Keown writes of LaRoche’s “nearly cinematic level of nonconformity” to people’s expectations of what an athlete should be. But a better description would be “peculiar.” Peculiar in the biblical sense of being “a peculiar people.” The Greek word translated “peculiar” means “costly” and “treasured,” but because our treasure is found in different places than the rest of the world, Christian are to be “peculiar” in the more typical sense of being “different,” maybe even considered “weird.”

LaRoche’s confidence to be peculiar, even at the cost of $13 million, comes from the fact that there’s a lot more to life than the world would have us believe, but that God is waiting to show to us — maybe through a peculiar ball player.

________

Copyright (c) 2016 Prison Fellowship Ministries. Reprinted with permission. "BreakPoint" is a radio ministry of Prison Fellowship Ministries.

Feeling overcommitted, overloaded, and overwhelmed? Prioritize.

“We spend 10 percent more than we have - and it no longer matters if one is talking about time, energy, or money. We work hard, play hard, and crash hard.”

________

The day had spun away faster than the last squares of toilet paper on the end of a roll. The clock announced my children’s bedtime, and I couldn’t be happier. I scanned my endless to-do list, wondering if I could squeeze in just a few more tasks that night.

“Mom, can I do one more thing?” Leslie, my 10-year-old daughter, asked.

“Make it quick,” I sighed.

A few minutes later, Leslie gave me a hand-drawn grid. The days of the week were written in perfect, fifth-grade cursive. “This is my schedule, and I’m stressed out. I have no free time.”

It was my daughter’s voice, but did I hear her right? “My schedule?” “Stressed out?” Did these words come from a child’s mouth?

Leslie ran her fingers over the squares. “Look, I have basketball two days a week and piano lessons on Tuesdays, not counting daily practice, then...”

As she continued, I realized her brothers’ schedules weren’t much better. No wonder our lives were hectic. Meshing my kids’ daily activities with my own was like trying to shove another dirty pan into an already full dishwasher - no matter how things were rearranged, they weren’t going to fit! My daughter and I discussed what we could cut.

“Let’s wait on swimming lessons,” I said. “And cut art class altogether. That will free up Tuesdays and Fridays for just hanging out.”

I noted relief on Leslie’s face as she erased those items from her schedule.

“Thanks, Mom,” she said as she scurried off to bed. “I feel better already.”

With the sound of 10-year-old feet padding down the hall, I turned to my own calendar, recalling something I’d read earlier that day: “We spend 10 percent more than we have - and it no longer matters if one is talking about time, energy, or money,” writes Richard A. Swenson, M.D., author of The Overload Syndrome (Navpress). “We work hard, play hard, and crash hard.”

The relief on Leslie’s face made me realize how far I’d let our priorities get out of whack. We were overcommitted, overloaded, and overwhelmed. It was time to make changes.

First Things First: God

When asked how we should set priorities, most Christians will give the Sunday School answer: “God first, then family, then ministry, then everything else.” But in day-to-day living, how often do we practice this?

As a young mom, I was convicted of the lack of time I spent with God. I knew I should read the Bible, and I wanted to. The problem was matching my desire with the practicalities of daily life. Searching for a solution, I realized my only quiet moments occurred before my family woke up. Determined, I set my alarm for 5 a.m. I was tired the next day, but I was spiritually nourished after a time of prayer and reading.

My friend Janet Holm McHenry, author of Prayerwalk: Becoming a Woman of Prayer, Strength, and Discipline (Waterbrook Press), has developed time with God in her own way. Janet struggled to set correct priorities. She was depressed, had gained weight, and lacked time alone with God. She decided to tackle all three problems by praying while she walked the streets of her town.

“I could never claim that verse, ‘The joy of the Lord is my strength’ because I never knew what joy was,” Janet says. “Now I know that joy is being totally centered on God. And I get that daily center as I prayerwalk.”

As Janet and I discovered, taking time to seek God and to ask His opinion about daily activities helps us rearrange priorities to fit His agenda.

“God will tell you what is front and center today,” says Jill Briscoe, author of Living a Purpose-full Life (Waterbrook Press). “Are you listening?”

Next Things Next: Family

Family has a way of bringing true character to light. I never realized how much I enjoyed order, cleanliness, and marking things off my list until my kids stripped those things away. When my first child, Cory, was a toddler, I sorted toys into categories: cars with cars, bears with bears, blocks with blocks. I taught a women’s Bible study, baby-sat when others were in a bind, and accepted extra work assignments.

When children numbers two and three came along, I knew I was facing a losing battle. It was impossible to keep the house clean, please my friends, and carve out a career in the writing industry. My frustration was evident.

Seeking the Lord, I soon realized the problem wasn’t my children’s neediness; it was my heart. What was my motivation for keeping a spotless home? For leading a women’s group? For turning in multiple writing assignments before the deadline? My motivation had been the approval of others. I wanted to prove I could do it all - and well.

That’s when I became aware of Ecclesiastes 4:6, which says, “Better one handful with tranquillity than two handfuls with toil and chasing after the wind.” That’s me, I realized. I had two hands full, chasing after perfection I’d never achieve. I needed to slow down and enjoy my kids. I knew the day would come when a game of Memory with Mom wouldn’t be so fun, and I didn’t want to look back at their childhood years with regret.

Too Much Too Soon

The flip side of too little quality time is getting our children involved in too much outside the home. With so many enriching, educational activities available, it’s hard to say no.

For many years my kids were only allowed to participate in one activity per year. This grew harder as they got older. I didn’t want to be the “bad” mom who refused to let her children play sports, but I wasn’t doing my kids any favors by involving them in too much.

In a society that praises accomplishment, children are often forced to take on roles they’re not comfortable with. Kids are compelled to grow up sooner than they want to - by parents who worry they’ll be left behind. As parents, we should never be fooled to think we can ever “keep up.” In every area of a child’s life, there will always be someone brighter, faster, or better. There’s nothing wrong with wanting our children to be their best, but often this “best” becomes detrimental when we push our kids to do too much too soon.

Eliminate and Concentrate

Ministry seems to be the hardest area for Christian families to balance. Many worthy causes seek our attention, but when it comes to deciding which to pursue, the goal should be to eliminate and concentrate.

“It’s OK to have limits. It is OK not to be all things to all people all of the time all by ourselves,” Swenson says.

“You want to manage your time? You eliminate clutter and concentrate on your goals. You want to disciple? You eliminate crowds and concentrate on a few people,” says Anne Ortlund, author of Disciplines of a Beautiful Woman (Word Publishing). And if I could add one thing it would be: You want to make a lasting impact on your children and your world? You reach out to others as a family.

For many years my husband and I struggled to balance numerous church commitments. He was on the building committee and the finance committee and was involved in different men’s groups. I assisted with children’s worship, taught Sunday School, and led Bible studies. We were heading in different directions, and our children were forced to tag along or be left behind.

As the craziness of this lifestyle overwhelmed us, my husband and I looked for other ways we could serve. We dropped all our committees and decided instead to minister as a family. Today we focus on two areas: children’s ministry and assisting in our local crisis pregnancy center. Together, we enjoy working and serving as we perform skits or wash baby clothes. We also share a common bond as we see lives transformed.

Just Do It

Are you feeling overcommitted, overloaded, and overwhelmed? Get over it. You can make changes, especially when you realize getting your priorities in order makes you available to God and to those most important in your life. Just focus on what’s most important, concentrate on key people, and use ministry time as family time.

I had the sad responsibility to inform a mom and dad nearly 20 years ago that their beautiful 5-year old daughter had leukemia. They were shocked and overwhelmed.

I sat on a hospital bed by their side a few weeks later as an oncologist explained that their insurance would not pay for most of the very expensive treatment their daughter needed.

The father looked at his little daughter, his wife and the oncologist, then said, “It doesn’t matter. We’ll sell whatever we have. Just do whatever it takes to save her life.”

Change to a different venue last year. I spoke to a group of pastors and deacons about the possibility of their churches adopting an unreached, unengaged people group in India or Indonesia. I shared with them how our church had adopted an unreached, unengaged people group in Manipur in northeast India. We had visited them several times to provide encouragement, Bible teaching and children’s activities, and we currently are sending two of their young men to Bible school.

A great deal of excitement and enthusiasm filled the room as those men asked questions and explored possibilities. You could see the light in their eyes.

Then one businessman stood up and asked, “How much does it cost to fly over there and how long does it take to get there?”

When I explained the cost and travel time, the room grew quiet as everyone digested that information. Then the businessman said matter-of-factly, “We can’t do that.” Others started to nod. It was like a cold, wet blanket had been thrown on their enthusiasm.

Then I responded, “This is why there are unreached, unengaged people groups. It’s hard to get there and it costs a lot.”

They pondered this a moment; then the businessman said again, “But we can’t do that.”

Finally, an 80-year old pastor in the back of the room stood up and said, “My brothers, if we don’t go there and take them the Gospel, they will die without Jesus and go to a Christless eternity like they have done for generations. We have to do whatever it takes to get the Gospel to them.” Then he sat down.

The pastors and deacons looked at each other, nodded their heads in approval and the excitement returned to the room. They began to discuss possibilities again.

This father would do whatever it took to save the life of his precious daughter who, by the way, is now in her 20s and teaching school. You and I must be willing to do whatever it takes to reach the precious people in faraway places with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Aren’t we glad that our heavenly Father didn’t hesitate to do whatever it took to purchase our redemption from a slave market of sin in a faraway, unreached place. What did it take? It took the life of His only Son. He gave His most precious possession.

What are we willing to give in time, money and abilities to reach untold millions of spiritually lost people in difficult to reach places? The Great Commission challenges us to do whatever it takes.

________

Robert Jackson is a family practice physician in Spartanburg, South Carolina