How Do I Put God First in My Life?

Put God first in my life.

I call myself a Catholic, but how do I put God first in my life? Do I choose Him over other things in my life?

I invite you to join me as I explore the idea of putting God in the forefront of life.

How do I put God first in my life?

Putting God first in my life, making Him a priority above all else, can be challenging to do. What does this look like? How can I do it? Can I put God first?

To dive into this evaluation, the first thing I should do it look at my life. To know how I can put God first in my life, I need to look at my life and who I am.

I like to break things down into smaller chunks. When I look at who I am, I think of my answer in terms of relationships. I am first a child of God. Next, I am a wife, then a mom, then a daughter, sister, and friend.

I think it will be helpful to look at each of these one at a time.

As a child of God, how can I put God first?

In thinking about being a child of God and putting Him first, I think of the Bible and the Church.

What Jesus say in the Bible

What does Jesus say in the Bible about following Him? There are many places in the Gospels where Jesus says how to live. The one that stand out to me the most is Matthew 22: 37-40:

“You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment.

The second is like it:You shall love your neighbor as yourself. The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.”

Love God with all I am, love myself, and love others. How? In the way God calls us to love: completely and being willing to sacrifice.

What the Catholic Church says in the Catechism

What does the Catholic Church say we are to do?

The Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us in sections 2042-2043 what is expected of us as Catholics:

THE PRECEPTS OF THE CHURCH:

The first precept (“You shall attend Mass on Sundays and holy days of obligation and rest from servile labor”) requires the faithful to sanctify the day commemorating the Resurrection of the Lord as well as the principal liturgical feasts honoring the mysteries of the Lord, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the saints; in the first place, by participating in the Eucharistic celebration, in which the Christian community is gathered, and by resting from those works and activities which could impede such a sanctification of these days.

The second precept (“You shall confess your sins at least once a year”) ensures preparation for the Eucharist by the reception of the sacrament of reconciliation, which continues Baptism’s work of conversion and forgiveness.

The third precept (“You shall receive the sacrament of the Eucharist at least during the Easter season”) guarantees as a minimum the reception of the Lord’s Body and Blood in connection with the Paschal feasts, the origin and center of the Christian liturgy.

The fourth precept (“You shall observe the days of fasting and abstinence established by the Church”) ensures the times of ascesis and penance which prepare us for the liturgical feasts and help us acquire mastery over our instincts and freedom of heart.

The fifth precept (“You shall help to provide for the needs of the Church”) means that the faithful are obliged to assist with the material needs of the Church, each according to his own ability.

The faithful also have the duty of providing for the material needs of the Church, each according to his own abilities.”

Following the two Great Commandments and the precepts of the Church may look a bit different to each individual as we live out our unique vocations in life.

Put God first in my vocation as a wife and mother.

When my husband and I were recently married, we were asked to bring up the gifts at Mass. It was announced at Mass that we were the family that would bring up the gifts.

After Mass, one of our (single) friends came up to us and said we should not have been called a family since it was just the two of us. She said there needed to be three people to be considered a family. My husband had the perfect answer that stumped her. He said, “We are a family: God, Mary, and I.” He held up three fingers.

She said that gave her something to think about.

Putting God first in our vocation of marriage can look like doing the dishes or taking out the trash when we do not want to. It can look like getting enough sleep so we are not tired and cranky the next day, when our young kids will be full of energy. It can be putting aside something we want to do because our child needs some one-on-one attention. It can be skipping an event so we can have time together as a family.

Putting God first as a wife and mom means sacrifice. Living a Christian life means sacrifice! Choosing to put God first means other things are automatically second, third, or even completely off your list.

There is a balance between sacrifice for the benefit of others and sacrifice that is detrimental to ourselves. As wives and moms, we are part of our family. In taking care of the needs of our family, we need to take care of ourselves, too: body, mind, and soul. Sometimes we can do two things at once: pray while we do the dishes or make a meal.

By keeping God first in our lives, we will be more attuned to Him and rely on Him to help us navigate all our responsibilities. A good friend and mom of five once asked me, “When am I going to have it all together?” She thought that after a number of years, she would have things figured out. But, life changes! Our kids grow up, we change, circumstances in our lives change, and we need to change and adapt.

I told her when we have it all figured out is when God will call us home. We will have accomplished what we needed to do on earth.

Putting God first is also going to Mass on weekends and Holy days of Obligation. It means raising children in the faith. It means helping your spouse and children, as well as yourself, to get to Heaven.

Put God first as a daughter, sister, and friend.

When we put God first in the context of being a daughter, sister, and friend, we need to remember to not do so at the expense of our vocation as wife and mother, since that is the primary calling.

This can mean calling our parents to say hello and remembering them on birthdays and special days. Pray for a parent who has died and have Masses said for them.

We can call a friend to say hello, take a meal to a friend who is ill or had a baby, take care of the kids so a friend can go to the doctor or have some quiet time. We are serving Christ when we serve others.

How to put God first in my life: one day at a time.

So how can we put God first in our lives? One day at a time, we can work to put God first. We don’t need to have EVERYTHING figured out today. We can work each day to focus a little more on God.

Praying a Morning Offering each day is a perfect place to start. We can offer to God our day-all our joys, sufferings, and every act we do. When we might be tempted to say something unkind, we can think about our words; would we say those same words to God? If not, should we say them at all? Or, if something needs to be said, how can we say it in love and charity?

We can pray for our family, oursleves, and others throughout the day in moments her and there.

We can pray as a family each day before our kids go to bed. If you need some ideas, read more here: Simple Family Evening Prayer Time

Adding an Examination of Conscience and praying and Act of Contrition each night can help us keep our focus more on God each day.

The more aware of God we can be throughtout the day, the more we are able to put Him first in our lives. Invite God to be with you in your day, to be beside you when you take a walk, make a meal, read to your kids, or rest. Ask Him to be with you and help you to live as He calls you to live your life. He will be with you.