What Matters Most

By Rick Warren

Every day when you wake up, you need to remind yourself what counts and what doesn’t count. Don’t be distracted by what’s insignificant and petty in life.

Why is this an important habit? Because you’ve probably noticed how easy it is to lose your joy over some small thing. It’s usually the small irritations that cause you to lose your happiness. Somebody cuts you off when you’re trying to make a turn, and you lose your happiness. The clothes you put on don’t fit anymore, and you lose your happiness. It’s the little things that sometimes affect us the most, and yet they don’t really matter.

Paul said in Philippians 3:7, “I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done” (NLT).

What was the most important thing in your life before you met Jesus Christ? Was it your career? Making money? Maybe it was getting a date or maybe it was being popular.

Paul said all those things are “worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord” (Philippians 3:8 NLT).

So, here’s a good question to ask when you’re distracted by worthless things: How much will this matter in 100 years? Because it’s probably not going to matter tomorrow, much less for eternity. All the things you used to care about don’t even compare to the joy that comes from having a relationship with Jesus.

When you become a Christian, Jesus changes your values. You no longer want to do the things you used to do. He changes your “want tos.”

That’s what happens when God comes into your life; you learn what really counts and what’s actually important.

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