God should be our priority

Unknown

Hey everybody,

I'm sure this topic has been posted up before because I'm sure everyone thinks about this, but I couldn't find a related topic already posted.

the question i had in mind was what's the point of studying and having a career when gaining eternal life and getting closer to God is what really matters? i know that sounds like a stupid question but sometimes i feel like i'm wasting my time with pointless things like studying when i could be reading the Bible or praying more. Jesus said, "For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" So shouldn't we focus mainly on God and on not losing our soul? I feel like I'm losing my soul when I spend 6-8 hours a day studying and only 10-20 minutes reading the Bible/praying. This kind of schedule doesn't sound like I'm putting God as my priority. God doesn't want the leftovers of our time.

Could studying and striving to have a career be a trick from satan to keep us from getting close to God? I'm not using this as an excuse to not study. I'll still be studying 6-8 hours a day no matter what kind of reply I get, but I just wanted to see what you guys would say.

Thanks and God bless.

Unknown

But Joseph didn't spend half of his life studying to be successful. He spent most of his life praying.

And I never understood how we study for God's glory. We study because we want good grades. What do grades have to do with God's glory? Also, we could be lights to the world without having a job. We become the lights to the world by preaching to the world.
Also, the disciples were not very smart people at all with no education, yet they became so filled with the Holy Spirit that they were able to preach to the entire world.

Of course we have to go to school and study in order to know how to read and write and know the basic knowledge of this world so we are not ignorant. But I don't like it how we preoccupy more than half of our youth years with school. This should be the time when we learn the most about God and the time where we become closest to God. This should be the time when we memorize numerous passages from the Bible and the time when we learn the hymns and memorize prayers from the agpeya. We can't memorize the Bible when 30 years old because our memory isn't as good. I don't find it possible to do all this when all we do is study.

I'm just playing devil's advocate here.

Marianne87

Well do you think if none of us went to school and got educated...we will spend our time reading the bible and educating ourselves about God...I personally don't think many of us would do that...not that it's impossible or anything...but we are young we don't know much. By us studying and becoming successful people...we are representing the glory of God...because we are His children and any Father will be proud of his children when they lead a successful life. Second..you get an education..to get a job so you can live. You need the money to live and you need the job to get the money. If we didn't work...and just spend our life praying and getting closer to God...then there is no balance here...you are taking care if your spiritual life and ignoring your physical one. It's not a sin...but God wouldn't want you to care about one thing and leave the other....that's why even monks and nuns in the monastries have to work beside the fact that they pray and such.

Unknown

ok, i have another argument to make...

In Luke 9:59-62, we read about how the Lord is constantly asking us to follow Him. However, the people that the Lord ask to follow Him say, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father." or "Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house." Aren't we doing the same thing? We pretty much say, "Lord, I will follow You, but let me first study and finish my homework." or "Lord, let me first finish my education and finish my degree."

So would the Lord answer us the same way He answered them by saying, "No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God."

Marianne87

But you are not ignoring God completely when you do that...I mean wasn't it a commandement from God when He told Adam with your sweat you shall gain your bread (don't know the exact verse)...so wouldn't that what He told us and that's what we should do...I mean I am with you that we do spend a lot of time on studying and other things and end up ignoring God because of it..so I think the real argument here is that we should first put God and then when we study or work..everything is going to feel like we are doing it for Him.