John 11:48 “If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.”

The human capacity for misplaced priorities is absolutely incredible at times. These men were essentially acknowledging that Jesus had to be sent by God or He could never do the things He was doing, yet they chose essentially political considerations over following the Son of God. They were fairly accurate in gauging how the Romans would respond, but they were more interested in their physical kingdom than they were in the kingdom of God. Temporal power and authority are addictive! Just like drug addicts, they were choosing gratification of their addiction to their destruction. We see that in politicians today who will say or do absolutely anything to stay in office. This sort of behavior can be easy to spot in public figures, but we can fail to recognize it in ourselves. Jesus laid down a very clear guideline: “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness,” (Matthew 6:33) but we tend to seek almost anything else first, and then wonder why God’s kingdom doesn’t materialize in our lives. It isn’t necessarily that the other things we seek are bad, it’s just that they are secondary at best. Even political office, used rightly, can be a powerful force for good, but placing it ahead of God and His rule and reign is hubris and self-deception. We need to ask Holy Spirit to open our eyes to recognize our own priorities and motivations and choose to align them with His.

This certainly applies to me. I like to think that my motives and priorities are pure and noble, but at times that’s far from the case. I don’t want to do the right thing for the wrong reason, nor do I want to do the wrong thing even from the purest of motives. I know from experience that I can’t get it all right on my own, so I’ve got to keep seeking God for Him to straighten it all out. I know all too well that ignoring Him gets me into a world of trouble. I don’t want to be like these Jewish leaders but rather like the apostle John, who gave his life for Christ just much as his brother James did, who was the first of the apostles to be martyred, but John was the only one to die a natural death. I wouldn’t mind being martyred, but I want that level of faithfulness through thick and thin. I can’t achieve that on my own, but God can do it even in me, and that is my desire.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Two weeks from Friday I enter the period of life the Japanese government calls “the latter part of old age,” as though all I’ve got to look forward to is death. I know that’s not the case! Help me keep seeking You, Your kingdom and Your righteousness on all levels, so that Your will may be done in and through me on Your schedule for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!