Balancing Life's Demands - How to Put First Things First, Part 1

Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram Daily Podcast

Living on the Edge

Christianity, Religion & Spirituality

4.8 • 1.8K Ratings

🗓️ 6 August 2025

⏱️ 28 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Is your “to-do” list too long? Do you have too many people wanting your attention? If you’re struggling to keep all the balls in the air, join Chip as he shares how you can put first things first.

Three reasons why most of us live with two sets of priorities:

We are DECEIVED. We honestly don't see the discrepancy between what we think and say, and how we actually live.
We are AFRAID. Though we long to put "first things first," we simply do not believe that God will supply our needs if we give Him the first portion of our time, our lives, and our money.
We have FAILED repeatedly. Our sincere and honest efforts to put "first things first" in the past lasted only a short time and ended with frustration and disillusionment with ourselves.

So, what’s the “Missing Ingredient” to living out our priorities?

It's a RARELY USED word.
It's a FRUIT of the Spirit.
It comes to us by GRACE.
We ADMIRE it in others.
It's ESSENTIAL for putting "first things first."

The Word = DISCIPLINE / SELF CONTROL

Definition: Discipline is doing what needs to be done when it needs to be done.

The Dynamics of Biblical Discipline Can Be Summed Up in 2 Words:

DELAYED GRATIFICATION - Hebrews 12:11

The Method of Developing Biblical Discipline Can Be Summed Up in 3 Words:

ADVANCED DECISION-MAKING - 1 Corinthians 9:24-27

How Does It Work?

Advanced Decision Making begins with CLEAR–CUT OBJECTIVES.
Advanced Decision Making is reinforced by REWARDING ALONG the WAY.
Advanced Decision Making becomes a personal conviction when you PONDER the CONSEQUENCES.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Is your to-do list too long?
0:04.0	Do you have too many people wanting your attention?
0:06.0	Are you juggling too many balls and you wonder, God, how do I slow this down?
0:12.0	How do I get my life under control?
0:14.0	If that's you, stay with me.
0:16.0	We're going to talk today about how to put first things first.
0:22.4	Welcome to this edition of Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram.
0:26.3	Our mission is to inspire Christians to be genuine followers of Jesus and to empower them
0:31.4	to be active disciple makers in our world.
0:34.6	You know, I think it's safe to say we all can relate to that overwhelmed feeling
0:38.3	Chip just described. When a lot is going on in life, whether at work or in your family,
0:43.5	it can be like chasing down a runaway train. So today, Chip continues his series, balancing
0:49.0	life's demands by helping us slow down and reprioritize what matters most.
0:57.3	He has a lot to share with us, so grab your notes in Bible,
1:03.0	and go to Hebrews Chapter 12 as we join Chip for his talk, How to Put First Things First.
1:12.9	I was a pretty new Christian, and I had this amazing opportunity to, you know, ask Howard Hendricks. He was one of my heroes and mentors, and I got to ask him, you know, anything I could ask, anything you wanted to ask him.
1:19.4	And so I grew up in a very dysfunctional church, one that didn't teach the Bible and had a lot
1:25.6	of hypocrisy. And then I ended up in a small
1:29.1	parachurch ministry where everybody I knew, for the first three years, I was a Christian. I mean,
1:34.2	everybody, everyone got up and read the Bible, everyone memorized two or three verses a week,
1:38.3	everyone was in a Bible study. Once you got to a certain point, no one said it, but you just knew
1:43.2	someone has helped you.
	...

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