And he (Jesus) said to her, “Let the children be fed first, for it is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” But she answered him, “Yes, Lord; yet even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs. Mark 7:27-28

Once upon a time not so very long ago, there was a lady whose dog was Trouble. No, the dog didn’t get in trouble; the dog’s name was Trouble. This lady loved her dog named Trouble very much. In fact, this very rich lady loved her dog Trouble more than she loved some of her own family members. That’s why when this very rich lady died, she made sure her puppy named Trouble would be taken care of.

The very rich lady, whose will didn’t give anything to a few of her grandchildren, left twelve million dollars to her puppy. It can only be assumed that Leona Helmsley’s dog, Trouble, will live happily ever after.

Legal experts say that while twelve million dollars is a lot of money to give to a dog, it isn’t unusual for people to provide a trust to make sure their beloved pets aren’t shipped off to some uncaring and unappreciative relative, or even worse, to some place that might expedite puppy’s departure from this veil of tears. We love our pets. We want to make sure they’re going to be all right.

On the other hand, as Jesus said, “It’s not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.”

That was Jesus’ way of saying people ought to have their priorities right. The individual who can think of no need, no cause, no person, who has a greater need than her dog, has lost sight of that which is really important. A person who feeds his pets and starves his children is not putting first things first. Understand, I’m not saying Leona shouldn’t have taken care of her dog; it’s right that she did. I am suggesting with more than twelve million dollars at her disposal, Leona might have been able to stretch her cash and provide for her pooch AND a lot of people. She needed a readjustment of her priorities.

Thankfully, Jesus never needed to be reminded of that which was of prime importance. He came into this world dedicated to the purpose of giving His life, so that all who believe on Him would not perish but have everlasting life. Because Jesus had His priorities in proper order, He turned down the devil who offered Him untold wealth and power, and He said “no” to the crowd that offered Him a crown. Because Jesus had the right priorities, He didn’t defend His innocence at His unfair trials. Because Jesus kept the right priority, He chose to die rather than getting down from His cross. Jesus had the right priority, and because He did, death and devil were defeated, the shackles of sin were broken, and we have been saved.

THE PRAYER: Dear Lord Jesus, even as You always kept our salvation first and foremost, may we honor and thank You in all we do. Send Your Holy Spirit, so our priorities may be right. In Your Name. Amen.

In Christ I remain His servant and yours,

Today's Bible Readings: 2 Chronicles 29-30    Acts 19:21-41

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