It Only Gets Deeper As It Goes
A while ago, I posted something called 4th Priority. A man should prioritize his loves: love God first, then love your neighbor—starting with your closest neighbor and moving outward. And he should always make sure his work is his fourth priority.
I used a fountain to describe how to do this. At the top of the fountain is God the Source of all truth, goodness, beauty, joy, freedom, love, etc. That Source fills up the first bowl of the fountain which is you. Once you are filled, that Source overflows into the next bowl which is your spouse. Once that bowl is filled, it can overflow into your kids. Once that bowl is filled, it can overflow into your work. And finally it can overflow into everything else. 1) God, 2) your spouse, 3) your kids, 4) your work, and 5) everything else.
In other words, you love your spouse more by loving God first. You love your kids more by loving God and your spouse first. And so on.
Something about that post has been bugging me. The word priority makes me think of a series of unrelated boxes that need to be arranged in a certain order. As if I’m supposed take turns spending time with each box, but I need to make sure I spend more time with some boxes than I do with others.
The fountain analogy, on the other hand, makes me think of interconnected pools with one flowing into the other. There are no priorities. God fills the first pool and everything follows from there.
I’ve been leaning away from prioritizing my loves, and leaning toward God’s love flowing through my loves. Priorities divide; the fountain connects.
This reminds me of the water flowing out of Ezekiel’s temple:
Then he brought me back to the door of the temple; and there was water, flowing from under the threshold of the temple toward the east…And when the man went out to the east with the line in his hand, he measured one thousand cubits, and he brought me through the waters; the water came up to my ankles. Again he measured one thousand and brought me through the waters; the water came up to my knees. Again he measured one thousand and brought me through; the water came up to my waist. Again he measured one thousand, and it was a river that I could not cross; for the water was too deep, water in which one must swim, a river that could not be crossed (Ezekiel 47:1-5 NKJV emphasis mine).
The water flowing from the temple is healing water. At first it’s so shallow, it can flow under the threshold. Then after a thousand cubits, it’s ankle deep. After another thousand, it’s knee deep. Then waist deep. And, finally, it’s a river that cannot be crossed.
This is what happens when God loves you. You are a conduit of that love to your spouse, your kids, your employer/employees/coworkers, and everyone else. And the healing river only gets deeper as it goes.
What do you think?
Joseph
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Disclaimer: I'm not your pastor, lawyer, accountant, economist, doctor. I’m a regular guy who wants the freedom to love and enjoy God, my wife, my kids, and my work. And I believe pursuing that freedom will make it easier for others to do the same. This isn’t professional advice. If you need professional advice, talk to a professional.