The Secret of Joy

Matthew 22:37-39 says

"Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbour as yourself.' "

Ron, at the church I go to, has an incredible depth of experience, knowledge, wisdom and anecdotes. When he speaks, it's like collecting pearls from the ocean - a gem from him really is a gem.

Yesterday morning at Pray 7 (our church's weekly prayer meeting. 7am on a Tuesday morning), Ron was leading our thoughts and told us about the secret of joy. It's about getting your priorities in the correct order.

1) J - Jesus
2) O - Others
3) Y - Yourself

and that spells JOY!

When Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment was, He had no hesitation in quoting from The Scriptures. The greatest commandment is not just a commandment - it is an attitude, a lifestyle, and not just something to "tick off your list", like Do Not Murder. If we do love God with all our hearts, souls and minds, then our priorities will naturally start to correlate with His. If we put God first in our lives, then thinking of others before ourselves (See Philippians 2:3-4) will be a normal part of our lives. Godliness and Godly actions will lead to joy in our own hearts as we serve Him, and others, before ourselves.