Choking

Mark 4:19 And the cares of this world, ... choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.

"Cares of this world"...what are they?

Are they the same for you as they are for me? Some of them probably are. Some of them probably aren't.

Think of something that you care for. It can be anything. Has that thing ever took precedence over your relationship with God? Has that thing ever robbed you of your desire to dig deeper into God's Word?

Picture that thing, in your mind, choking you. Maybe it's just choking you a little bit. Maybe you can still take shallow breaths. Maybe this thing just barely has it's hands on your throat. It doesn't matter. God's design is for you to be able to take deep full breaths of His Word-- of Him.

I know I can think of lots of little things in my life that, while not bad in and of themselves, have a tendency to choke out my desire for communion with God. In fact, some of these things are often considered good things, but taken in too great of quantities, can have negative side effects.
Too often I get caught up in the little things in life. I using the term "little" here to mean: Anything that's of no eternal consequence. We are here for one purpose--to glorify God. We're not here to make more money. We're not here to get married. We're not here to go to church, to get a good job, to go to school, or to become famous. I'm not saying all those things are bad, they're just not our purpose.

Let us strive to put our God at the top of our list. Everyday, all day.