My friend Peter likes to tell this story…

One day Satan pulled together all his highest demon lieutenants.

And he said, ‘Guys, this isn’t working. 

'For all our hard labor, those people on earth are still getting better. We’re losing! And we need a new strategy. Now give me your best ideas!’

The first demon said, ‘Let’s convince them all that there is no God!'

’That won’t work,’ said Satan, ’They’ll just look around at the beauty of creation and we’ll be cooked.’

The second demon said, ‘Ok, I’ve got it: Let’s convince them that there’s no Satan!’

’That won’t work either,’ said Satan, ‘All they’ve got to do is pick up the paper and look at all the violence and suffering going on and nobody will believe it.'

The third demon then said, ‘I’ve got it! Let's convince everybody that there’s no hurry!’

A famous time manager once advised, ‘Get your most important work done by 11am,’ as a way to make sure that the most important things on our ‘to do’ list don’t fall through the cracks.

So… Where do our priorities for our spiritual lives fall?

Prayer, altruism, fellowship, and sacrament?

Are they where they need to be?

What do we need to push out of the way to make sure the most important thing, following Jesus, is getting done?

A 19th century Quaker missionary put it this way:

“I shall pass through this world but once. Any good therefore that I can do or any kindness that I can show to any human being, let me do it now. Let me not defer or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again.”