The Secret to a Happy New Year

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• Dr Desmond Ford
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Jan 2, 2015 1985

By Desmond Ford

There has been much talk in recent years about the 80-20 principle. That means in essence that eighty percent of what we do only gives twenty percent satisfaction, whereas twenty percent of what we do gives us eighty percent satisfaction. Therefore the great need to prioritize and decide what should be done first.

Of course these principles about time and success are really drawing from that very old treasure store – the Bible. Scripture is full of the 80-20 principle. It is forever stressing the necessity of prioritizing and of seeing things in a true sense of proportion.

A favorite word on the lips of Jesus was “first.” He could say, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness…. ” Or “First bind the strong man….” Or ”The first and great commandment… ” He had an eye for people who observed this priority principle.

When everybody else was criticizing that poor woman who out of love’s store had anointed him, he said, “Mary has chosen that good thing which shall not be taken from her.” How did she come to do that? Jesus said on the same occasion, “But one thing is needful.”

Mary had a true sense of priorities, she saw things in proportion, and it became automatic for her to apply the 80-20 principle. She made Jesus first. Worship and adoration was the essence of life to her.

Are the rest of us as wise? Or are we busily spending our energies, our thoughts, our loves and our talents on the eighty percent of things in life which will only yield a dividend of twenty percent? Perhaps ultimately they will yield no good dividends whatever. So here is the oldest of all platitudes and the truest and the most essential.

Let God be God. Either God matters tremendously or he doesn’t matter at all. If God be God he must be put first, ever and always.

He must be at the head of that happy new year and of each day and he must be first in every choice. The worship of God must be seen as our first duty and the source of all our fruitfulness and joy.

Without putting God first we’ll never know how to organize our lives. Only by his wisdom can we make the right choices. And furthermore he will give us the courage to pursue the right course whereas without him we would likely falter.

Happy New Year? All depends upon whether we will put God first. Let us together determine to do just that at the beginning of 2015.

– Des Ford. Rom 8:27–32 (Adapted from “The Only Way to Have a Happy New Year”)