If that title confused or infuriated you (understandably so), please let me explain.

Of course, God should hold primacy in our lives, so when I say, “Stop putting God first,” what I mean is that we shouldn’t reduce God to just being at the top of our to-do list, followed by a list of things that seemingly have nothing to do with Him. In that sense, stop putting God “first.”

Here’s the point: God shouldn’t be at the top of your priority list – He and His glory should be the reason for everything on that list!

The Bible never says, “Put God first,” but what it does say is this:

• Proverbs 3:6 – In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths.

This proverb doesn’t say, “Get your quiet time in with God and then go about your day.” No! It says, “In all your ways acknowledge Him” – meaning God isn’t just at the top of your list; He’s the reason, focus, and purpose for everything on that list. When we live like this, God guides us.

We also see this in the Psalms:

• Psalm 37:5 – Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him, and He will act.

Again, we are to live our entire lives unto the Lord. He’s not a box to check off each day. Rather, He is to be the focus of every aspect, affection, and activity in our lives.

Paul beautifully summarizes like this:

• 1 Corinthians 10:31 – So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

This is the call: We are to live for the glory of God. Not our own glory, but His and His alone.

What happens, though, is that many of us struggle in our faith because we try to put God first, but everything else seems to get in the way. Then we feel like failures, or worse, faithless.

What I would say is that you’re thinking about it all wrong. God is not a separate part of our lives; He is the very essence of it. Everything in our lives is meant to be for Him, with Him, and unto Him.

“But wait,” you might say, “what about when Jesus says in Matthew 6:33, “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness…““?

Here’s what we need to understand about this: Jesus says this in the context of worrying about the daily grind of life, being anxious about the needs of the day. What Jesus is saying is that when God’s Kingdom and righteousness (meaning His goodness and glory) are sought as the πρῶτον (próton; first, foremost) activity of our lives, God will take care of the rest.

As one commentary notes, “In the biblical context, próton often emphasizes the importance of foundational truths or actions that align with God’s will.”

Just as actual protons are part of the foundational building blocks of existence, so should seeking God’s Kingdom and righteousness be the foundation of our lives. 

So, God isn’t to be the first on our list; He is to be the foundation of our lives. He’s not just woven into everything we do, but He is the reason for everything we do.

This helps to know the extent of the Greatest Commandment, which is found in both Deuteronomy and Matthew:

• Deuteronomy 6:5 – You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.
• Matthew 22:37-38 – ³⁷And [Jesus] said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. ³⁸ This is the great and first commandment.

If our love for God is to be with “all our heart,” then this means that there is never a time when God isn’t the focus of our every aspect, affection, and activity of our lives.

This is not an excuse to skip devotions or prayer; it is a call to remember that God’s glory is to be the reason for all we do. And the closer we get to God (through the priority of things like prayer and devotion) making Him the priority of our lives, the more joy we’ll find in all we do, and the less guilt we’ll feel when we miss a devo or two.

So, stop putting God first, and make Him the foremost in all that you do. As Scripture says in 1 Corinthians 10:31: “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” Not just the first thing you do, but all things are to be done for God’s glory!