One of the most important things I have learned over the years is to identify and establish healthy priorities. As critical as this is, it is surprising how few people actually do this, especially those who are in positions of leadership. Determining what these priorities are is an absolute must for each of us.

While I was in Bible college, I learned a basic principle for priorities: My top priority is my relationship with God. That is followed by my relationship with my wife. My third priority is my relationships with my children, and finally, my ministry and work.

That gives a good basic overview, and is very solid advice. But it still remains somewhat general in nature. In each of these areas, how do I determine what I should be focusing on? How do I set my priorities in each area? How do I establish what that looks like?

I think there are a few questions that we can ask ourselves that can help determine where our focus should be. These are simple questions, but are worth taking some time to consider.

What do I have to do?

One of the first questions to consider is what I may be required to do. There are certain things that only I can do, or that I have to make sure get done. For example, in my role as a minister, I am responsible for casting the vision for our church, and keeping that vision fresh for our church. I am the one that communicates that to our leadership team, to the staff, and to the church as a whole.

If I fail to do this, the result could be that our entire church flounders and fails in reaching people with the Good News of the gospel. That is definitely not what we wish to occur, and so I have to maintain this priority in my own life to ensure that we move forward as a church.

Some of the responsibilities that go with this include preaching the majority of the time, shouldering the leadership responsibilities of our church, leading our staff and leadership team, and presenting ourselves to the community in which we live.

These are things that are required of me. They establish any of my priorities.

What things give the greatest gains?

The second question is a question about returns. What things do I do, or should I do, that bring the greatest returns to my life, my family, and my ministry?

One way of thinking about this, is what do I do better than anyone else? If I can do something better than someone else, then it makes more sense for me to work within my gifts. Someone else, who may not be as gifted, may not accomplish as much as me, and the return won’t be as great.

One example of this can be seen in the realm of family life. My wife and I can both fix dinner for the family. But she does so much, much better than I can. First of all, she cooks more, so she is more adept around the kitchen. She’s also more talented than I am. I don’t cook often, so it takes me longer.

My wife also shops for the family, and gets better deals because she knows the plan for meals for the week. On the other hand, I would have to go out and get whatever supplies I needed, and probably wouldn’t get the deals she would at the store.

So, although I can cook dinner, it is much more cost-efficient and time-saving for my wife to do that. She gets the greatest return in that area, so she prioritizes it.

What gives me joy?

A third question to ask ourselves is in the are of joy and happiness. What motivates me? What brings me the most satisfaction? What brings joy? This is a critical question to ask, because if something does not bring me joy, but instead discourages me, it may be best to delegate it to someone else, if possible.

This is not always possible, however. There are some things that we simply cannot eliminate, no matter how much we may not like doing them. However, when we find the things that motivate us and bring us the most joy, those are things we need to make sure are high on the priority list.

For example, spending time with my kids brings incredible amounts of joy, both to me and to the kids. That alone makes this a high priority for me, regardless of the other reasons to maintain this as a priority.

These are just three of the questions we can ask ourselves as we strive to establish healthy priorities in our lives. There are many more things that we can consider, but these three are at the top of the list.

As you and I strive to be the person God created us to be, we need to make sure we are doing the things that he has called us to do, and to do them well. Holding on to the right priorities can help us accomplish that more easily.

Question: What are your top three or four priorities? How do you keep those priorities in place? You can leave a comment by clicking here.