But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. (Matthew 6:33 NIV) In answer to an inquiry, Jenelle Ubigau, Investor Relations - a spokesperson for Starbucks Corporation gave this response about their concept of the Third Best Place, "Our Starbucks store represents the 'third place' - a place between work and home. The 'third place' is where you can sit back for a while and just be yourself over a great cup of coffee. It can also be a place for the family, or a gathering with friends." That description reminds me a little of the old TV series "Cheers" – about happenings in a little bar in Boston where "everybody knows your name." Such places tout that they are hoping we will count them as a nice non-threatening third place to be, but we know they would love for us to put them in the first place. As long as their customers keep spending money, they can hang out there as long as they wish. They will not suggest that we call and touch base with whoever is in first or second place. When Jesus calls us to follow him, we must make a decision that we fully understand that Christ and his Church is the first best place. The call to follow Christ requires that we give love and devotion to God our Creator. When we make this choice to be a disciple of Christ, we must re-arrange our priorities so that whatever occupied first place will now be moved down a few notches. Some people are afraid of making a strong commitment to Christ because they are afraid to give up whatever was previously in first place. Perhaps it was a hobby like golf, fishing, attending sports events, curling (curling?) or working all the time. They refer to people who put Christ and the church first as "religious fanatics". They never refer to people who make their wives "golf widows" as golf fanatics. Now preacher, you've done gone to meddling! Believe it or not, it is entirely possible to put Christ in the first place and still have time for some other activities. I even know of some devout Christians who find time to play golf or go fishing. And many of them even operate successful business enterprises that demand much time and energy. But, these servants of Christ are always prepared to drop these other activities when Christ calls them to some greater service. As a follower of Jesus Christ, we know that our lives become an open book. The people of the world are watching our every move to see if we are truly sincere and really follow God's better ways. Jesus intends for his disciples to be light for this dark world. "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden." (Matthew 5:14 NIV) The Christian life is within the full view of other Christians, worldly people and most importantly God our Father. The Bible teaches us that it is also in our own best interest to put God in the first place, "that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable." (1 Thessalonians 4:4) When we devote our lives to Christ, we learn to practice self-control. This self-control results in a much healthier and productive lifestyle for us, our family and community. We can live with the consciousness that we are doing our best to bring glory to God by our behavior. We are witnessing a great moral degeneracy in the various media that is available to adults and unsupervised children. We need look no further than our television programming to see that producers of entertainment constantly present perverted behavior as normal and desirable. Because many are not putting God first, we are allowing such shows as "Desperate Housewives" to garner all the attention and awards. Many young people see adults as a bunch of hypocrites and give up on moral goodness even before they reach adulthood. When humanity turns away from God and chooses to go its own evil way, God gives severe warnings throughout the Bible that this will not go unpunished. "Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator – who is forever praised. Amen. Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion." (Romans 1:24-27 NIV) Put Christ and the Church in the First Best Place, and watch your entire life flourish with God's amazing blessings. Let us work together to turn our nation back to God-fearing people. You are invited to all services of the Cedar Key Church of Christ. Write me with any comments or questions at PO Box 186, Cedar Key, FL 32625 or binkley@bellsouth.net. | 