Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Progressive Christian
Education and Religion
In the Kingdom of God, Priorities Matter

In the Kingdom of God, Priorities Matter

Last updated on: August 20, 2026 at 1:30 pm by Lee Ann B. Marino

In the Kingdom of God, Priorities Matter 2026-08-20T13:30:26-04:00 Lee Ann B. Marino

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

It is you priests who show contempt for My Name. “But you ask, ‘How have we shown contempt for Your Name?’

“By offering defiled food on my altar. “But you ask, ‘How have we defiled You?’(Malachi 1:6-7, NIV)

You have wearied the Lord with your words. “How have we wearied Him?” you ask. (Malachi 2:17, NIV)

The book of Malachi is a short but intense call to accountability for leaders. As leaders, we are often the first to face spiritual challenges. This is true nowhere more than in the instance of priorities. Though we might try to avoid texts like Malachi, they remind us that we don’t always have everything set up as picture-perfect as we’d like. While God reveals His order, we also submit to it. Through a personal story, I learned just how much priorities matter in the Kingdom of God.

Calendar with many pushpins and a red circle around the 30th

Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on Unsplash

Moving at Lightning Speed

Years ago, I met a woman who became part of my ministry. I was working as a professor for a Bible institute. She took a liking to me and my teaching style. There was particular interest in the process I had at the time for ordination preparation. She wasn’t committed to any other ministry and told me she was called to a specific office of ministry, that of the prophet. As a leader, I strongly encourage those called to study and be ordained in this ministry to develop their gifts and learn to heed and listen to the voice of God themselves.

She appeared to be a quick learner and flew through a program that typically took people somewhere in the vicinity of a year in only a couple of months. She was attentive and interested in everything, and we spoke just about every day. We moved her along in process for ordination, and everything seemed to be on a great path.

After Ordination

After her ordination, things continued much as they had prior. She was the first one there when prayer was needed. She seemed to be quick to give a word of encouragement, pushing me to continue as I had, even when I might not have been all that interested in doing what I was doing at that time. Others in the ministry knew her, and respected her position, especially because she was older than most of them. My Facebook account was frequently flooded with messages and posts of encouragement, things to help get me through my day.

A Drastic Change in Priorities

Then one day, things started to change. The first thing I noticed was how easily she was taken in by things that weren’t very spiritual. A friend of hers had a grandson who mimicked church behavior. He was suddenly declared “anointed,” which made me question it. This same friend suddenly blocked me on social media after she made a comment on my page about something someone said, and I politely pointed out where what she said was misunderstood. The things she would say to me suddenly didn’t feel so anointed or encouraging anymore; they felt condescending. It was as if one day the wind blew through, and there she was, and just as quickly as it came in, there it went.

Things really changed when she decided to get a job. She said she was going to work in order to make money to attend ministry events, support the ministry work, be prepared for travel out of state. She needed to reduce debt tying up her finances. I believed her getting a job was a move in the right direction. Things seemed a little funny, so I thought a job might be a good thing. She found a job, which she seemed to like…and then one thing after another seemed to come crashing down from there.

Priorities Revealed

Despite what she told me about her intentions, she never attended a single ministry event we held. She was always unable to come, for one reason or another. Her giving was inconsistent, even though she was making more money than everyone else. She was no longer available to talk. I was lucky if I heard from her in a great while. When I did, it was usually to reiterate earlier things she’d said, or talk about matters with her family.

Every time I turned around, she was making personal trips, going on vacation, buying cars, or spending money to help fund her adult children’s needs. After getting fired from her job, she said she would be more involved with the work, but it never happened. Given numerous opportunities to be involved or help out, she either wasn’t interested, forgot, had to be forced, or just never followed through. By the end of things, she hadn’t done a thing with her credentials in almost six years, and wasn’t doing anything in ministry at all.

Moving Forward

I hadn’t heard from her in a while when I realized I’d been deleted on social media. It was obvious that things were finished. We hadn’t been properly connected in some time. I sent her a letter, clarifying her dismissal, stating that it was clear her priorities had changed. If she wanted to make things right, she would have to ask God what to do and do it, because I was not going to continue to embrace her disrespect any longer. I never heard from her again after I sent that letter. She never answered me. She didn’t try to make it right.

As I stated to her, her priorities changed.

Our Priorities Matter

This experience taught me how much priorities matter. The requirements I had as to what marked a “priority” ministry and judgment for ordination criteria weren’t adequate for the church and world we live in today. While this particular woman might have been very gifted with certain spiritual abilities, her priorities weren’t right for ministry. To the outside world, she appeared to be dutiful and dedicated, but God was not her first priority. Unfortunately, many more are out there looking to connect without commitment.

We’re supposed to be a church full of leaders loaded down with spiritual gifts, but we don’t want to look beyond what is obvious. Every leader needs to step back and consider that what the “outside world” sees is not enough to assess a proper spiritual life. Priorities matter and are essential to overcoming the very things that often look right, but somehow are not. We are part of a church that thrives on distraction. We love to see busy families, even if they aren’t portraying a real picture of themselves to the world. It’s entertaining to say we are doing what we do for the sake of God or ministry, but reality often proves we are liars and that our commitments aren’t where they need to be.

A Lesson from Malachi

In the book of Malachi, we find the story of priests who weren’t as committed to God as they claimed. They both knew they were doing wrong and were training others to do wrong. Their priorities were all screwed up as they stood in God’s service and didn’t do what He required. On the outside, they looked like any ordinary priest: they took care of sacrifices and talked about God. Yet every time the Prophet Malachi confronted them in the scenario, their reality was quite different.

They weren’t following God’s principles for offerings. They were breaking the rules. Disobedience was rampant. God was tired of it. Despite the evidence right in front of them, they acted innocent, like they had no idea what Malachi was talking about. A whole room full of so-called spiritual gifts, and not one person was willing to fess up and say, “You know what? You’re right!” Their priorities weren’t right.

God Knows Where He is in Your Life

No matter how gifted we are, our priorities tell the story of what is really important to us. I think a part of us wants to place God secondarily in our lives. We hope that through all our busyness and looking the part of the perfect spouse, family partner, and minister, we can receive the accolades of men. We want to be first in our lives. If there is anything we can learn from Malachi (and from the story I told above), it is that wrong priorities have a way of catching up with us.

Priorities matter, no matter who we are or how big we might be. Disobedience blows out any hope for spiritual fire and launch, when things have a way of coming around full circle. If we are dishonest about our lives and our priorities, it will come home to roost that God is simply not first.

No matter what someone might think of your life and how you present it, God knows where He is on your list of priorities. It is my sincerest hope that when you’re asked about what you do, God’s question to you won’t be answered with a question. All of us need to be prepared to answer the question, “Where do your priorities lie?” As was in Malachi’s time, we must talk often with one another, examine our hearts, and brace ourselves for the overhaul (instead of acting all innocent) when the answer is simply not what it might appear to be.

General Christian

Careers, Workplace and Religion

current events

Leadership

Ministry

Spiritual development

priorities in ministry

About Lee Ann B. Marino

Dr. Lee Ann B. Marino, Ph.D., D.Min., D.D. (”The Spitfire”) is “everyone’s favorite theologian” leading Gen X, Millennials, and Gen Z as apostle of SAFE Ministries. Her work encompasses study and instruction on leadership training and development, typology, Pneumatology, conceptual theology, Ephesians 4:11 ministry, and apostolic theology. She is author of over thirty-five books, host of the top twenty percentile podcast Kingdom Now, and serves as founder and overseer of Sanctuary International Fellowship Tabernacle - SIFT and Chancellor of Apostolic Covenant Theological Seminary. Dr. Marino has over twenty-five years of experience in ministry, leadership, counseling, mentoring, education, and business. You can read more about the author here.

Previous Post

August 12, 2026

Five Reasons Why Your Giving Matters

Next Post

August 26, 2026 Spiritual Reflections of an Educator for Back-to-School

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category BIble education Bible history Bible study bible women church history Cult education current events holidays Leadership Ministry queer events Spiritual development Uncategorized wellbeing women in christianity women in ministry world religion

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

I took a census that displeased God, resulting in a plague that killed 70,000 men. Who am I?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Saul David Joab Solomon