“Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and He will give you everything you need.” Matthew 6:33

Businesses often use something known as an in-tray exercise for determining top candidates for employment. An in-tray exercise is a simulation used to assess the aptitude of potential employees as part of the employment selection process. In-tray exercises are used by many companies as part of the selection process, and they commonly appear as part of the interview stage. They give insights into a potential employee’s level of knowledge, skill set, and attitudes…commonly referred to in the HR industry as KSA’s.

Candidates will be presented with a business-related scenario, accompanied by a list of related tasks including telephone calls, emails, complaints and reports. It is then up to the individual to prioritize each task in accordance with its perceived importance. As an example, the in-tray exercise, also known as the e-tray exercise may provide a job candidate a list of eight emails comprised of boss requests, customer complaints, and employee needs. The candidate is then asked to prioritize the order of his/her response.

In reading more about the in-tray exercise I realized that every day you and I are faced with a similar test.

IN FACT, REAL LIFE VALUES ARE MEASURED IN SECONDS.

Every day we are given 86,400 seconds. The question is what will we do with the 86,400 seconds we have? How you choose to spend those seconds are based on your prioritizing values and deciding what matters most and in what order. The results of your prioritizing is what is known as YOUR LIFE.

So instead of an in-tray exercise we could say that each day could be viewed as a LIFE_EXERCISE and how you prioritize the opportunities before you. YOUR LIFE_EXERCISE reveals your knowledge, skill set, and attitudes to be a human.

And you do have choices. Right now, you are using 240 of those seconds to read this Meditative Word. If you go to see a movie today you will be choosing to spend 7,800 seconds (not counting previews).

And if you sit down for a baseball game today, you will spend 10,800 seconds. Let’s say that you do all three of those today, that would leave 66,300 (minus the drive time, previews, and the pregame line for a hotdog).

The biggest issue in life is priorities. We face it when planning our calendars, deciding what to buy and what not to buy, what to eat and not to eat, what to keep or throw away, and so many more. Each of these get prioritized and become our experience of in-tray exercise called LIFE.

Jesus is the best tutor on how to pass this test. He teaches,
“Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and He will give you everything you need.” (Matt. 6:33, NLT)

So consider today how many seconds of your day are you seeking the Kingdom of God?

If you find this value is low in ranking try adding just one prayer into your routine (morning, evening, or mealtime prayer). Add one goal of serving someone with love and kindness today.

Whatever you choose to add, thank the Lord for the opportunity to seek His Kingdom first today, one second at a time.

This is what it means to follow Jesus, to be changed by Him, and to be committed to His mission.

Prayer
Lord Jesus, You have granted us this gift of life. You call us to live each one of those seconds according to the priorities and the values that You have set in place for us. So often we wander from those and we set things higher above seeking Your kingdom. Would You move within us, not only to forgive and to cleanse our hearts and our minds of those kinds of wrong values, but would You also Lord, put in place those values in the heart and the passion to seek You with all of our heart, all of our strength, and all of our mind? Therefore, loving You and loving others as ourselves. Help us to do that today as we seek Your will above ours. It’s in Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.