Binary

I have been on several interviews recently where the interviewer has asked me to prioritize a list of to do items. These items usually have to do with the job I am applying for and are industry specific. The things to be done are vague enough to describe in one sentence, but specific enough to give the idea that it is specialized in it's knowledge base. The thing I think is funny about this exercise is that it is built on the notion that one person's priorities are right or wrong when there is no moral or ethical standard. I don't think any job is so mundane that a task can be assessed by the description alone, without knowing anything else about the circumstances. It is the idiosyncrasies that give the scenario it's priority.

Florence Allen, once matriarch of the Farmington Hills Corps, said "Everything comes down to priorities." If I work 40 hours a week and spend 7 hours a week in personal worship; where is my priority? That is too difficult to say, it implies that time alone is the factor that one gauges a priority. If I spend $200 on a Bible and $12,000 on a car, is my priority the car? Certainly not! You can't look at everything so black and white. Life is not binary, it is infinite.

If someone you know has priorities that seem off kilter, try asking yourself "Why are my priorities the way they are?" If you put family first, what does that look like? Is it immediate family or extended family? If you work every minute of the day in order to provide for your family, you might believe you are fulfilling your priority. If you work just enough to get by so that you can spend as much time with your family as you can, you might believe you are fulfilling your priority. As long as you are following after God and not hurting anyone, you are able to live out your priorities the way you see fit. So is everyone else.