First Things First

Learning involves a process. (Process described here) First we can learn basic definitions of terms (complete the PDF on the page "Know Good & evil." Reading the information will help with the first level of understanding. Going deeper will involve seeing how these are alive and active within ourselves and around us. The goal of the daily practices is to increase and grow a deeper understanding. We can grow in spiritual understanding through this daily process. Remember, patience, perseverance, endurance, and self-discipline are all part of the experience.

Just like learning to ride a bike, we fall, and we must keep practicing. In life, many of us learn to repress our feelings, not to cry in public etc., and we need to get back in touch with our hearts. Not easy. God is love and this love is not about self-seeking, pride, rudeness, or evil. We may need much relearning, through practice. This is an emotional experience. Let's stand firm and stay the course with humility and willingness.

Matthew 6:33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

To make God first is to set aside our pride and self-seeking. We humble ourselves, desires, wants, and inwardly situate ourselves to be of service to God.

We can ask ourselves questions. What would God's Good be like in my thoughts, words, and actions? What would I do today if Jesus was right here with me?

After humbling ourselves we begin thinking about God's character traits of love, mercy, peace, patience, compassion, truth, justice, forgiveness. We invite God to clear our minds from other distracting thoughts, worries, or interests.

We can ponder how to think and act more peacefully, patiently, sincerely, and honestly with God's ways.

Reading scripture or other supportive spiritual information can help adjust our thinking in a spiritual direction. It is good to guide our minds this way.

We can read about God's righteousness and goodness. Then we can imagine ourselves walking more in it with our words, attitude, and actions.

Sitting quietly to calm our inward being toward peace can improve our ability to be more self-aware. We can examine our thoughts and redirect them better. This may require some self-discipline because our minds may wander.

In the morning we can think about how we can better practice God's character with others and ourselves. We can anticipate interactions with others, what we can say or do. At night we can review our day to see how we might be able to improve on the next day. We can learn from our choices whether helpful or harmful. We can see how to improve and correct ourselves. This is not about being perfect, it's about seeing spiritual truth and increasing our awareness of it.

There is always some Godly good to find. Setting our minds and hearts upon that Godly good can help us spiritually. We may need humble prayer to be willing to see Godly good. This is not about pride. It's about love, peace, and spiritual good. 

We all fall short and sin. Some days may be better than others. If we get caught up in self-seeking, fear, dishonesty, or resentment we ought to confess it with someone who understands. Sabotaging thoughts can block us from experiencing God's goodness. We ought to guard against fighting, complaining, blaming, and faultfinding. We need spiritual solutions. Humility will always be our friend to help us get unstuck.

We can have spiritual fellowship together. Through the practice of empathy, patience, compassion, mercy, forgiveness, and sincere truth in love, we can spiritually connect with each other. We can have deeper relationships through God's character together.