There’s a strange tension that comes with following God seriously. On one hand, life still goes on. Bills still need to be paid. Careers still matter. Friends still want to hang out. Hobbies still exist. But somewhere along the way, something begins to shift internally. The priorities start rearranging themselves.

Not perfectly. Not overnight. But noticeably.

One thing I’ve been reflecting on lately is how easy it is to claim that God comes first while quietly building a life where He gets whatever time is left over. I think many Christians, myself included, wrestle with this more than we want to admit. It’s not always outright rebellion or rejection of God. Sometimes it’s just distraction. Convenience. Comfort. Busyness. We slowly start prioritizing other areas of life without even realizing it.

And yet Scripture constantly reminds us that God desires full devotion, not partial attention.

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” — Matthew 22:37

God is described as a jealous God, and for a long time I misunderstood that. Jealousy between humans is often rooted in insecurity or selfishness. But God’s jealousy is holy. He wants our hearts because He knows nothing else will truly satisfy them. He wants our mind, heart, soul, and strength. He wants to be at the center of our lives, not an accessory added onto it.

“You shall have no other gods before Me.” — Exodus 20:3

That conviction has been challenging me lately.

For example, if I know I’m going to Sunday morning service, I try not to stay out too late the night before. If I do go out, I try to be home early enough to be rested and mentally present for church. Not because attending church is some religious checkbox, but because I genuinely want to absorb what’s being taught. I want to hear God clearly. I want my heart prepared instead of distracted and exhausted.

“So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” — Romans 10:17

And honestly, that’s different from how I used to think.

Before becoming a Christian, I used to notice people who identified as Christians but only seemed to show up to church during holidays or whenever it was convenient. From the outside, it sometimes felt like Christianity was more of a label than a transformed life. I didn’t really see much difference between their lives and mine at the time.

Ironically, there were always a few genuinely godly people around me. I just tuned out whenever conversations became spiritual. Not because I disliked it, but because I felt like I had nothing to contribute. They would naturally talk about faith with each other, and I mostly stayed quiet. Looking back, I realize I could have expressed curiosity more openly too.

Guess what — now I am them.

I find myself discussing — or gently correcting — friends when we talk about things that are clearly stated in Scripture, such as God being referred to as “He,” leaving no doubt about God’s gender, and that God created Adam and Eve, male and female.

“So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” — Genesis 1:27

It’s funny because I used to sit quietly during these conversations, and now I’m often the one bringing Scripture into them. Not because I think I know everything, but because God’s Word has become real to me in a way it never was before.

Somewhere along this journey with faith, I’ve started planning my daily life around God instead of trying to squeeze Him into whatever time remains. Prayer time. Scripture reading. Sermons. Church. Even if it’s just thirty minutes in the Word some days, that time matters to me now. I enjoy listening to teachings like David Guzik’s Thursday live Q&As because the questions come from ordinary people wrestling with the same kinds of struggles and doubts I have.

“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” — Psalm 119:105

And slowly, other priorities have started changing too.

I still enjoy hobbies like dancing, but it no longer consumes six nights of my week like it once did. I still care about life goals and relationships and growth, but now there’s this deeper desire underneath it all: becoming more Christlike. Spending time with God has become less of an obligation and more of a real desire. Honestly, it’s become one of the best parts of my life.

I think I used to misunderstand what “put God first” actually meant.

I thought it meant abandoning everything else. Like becoming a Christian meant dropping normal life entirely and only doing “religious” things. But that’s not really it. Putting God first doesn’t mean we stop living. It means we let God lead in every area of life we’re already living.

We ask for His wisdom before making decisions.
We seek His guidance in relationships.
We evaluate our ambitions through His lens.
We surrender our schedules, desires, fears, and plans to Him.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths.” — Proverbs 3:5–6

Everything else begins revolving around Him instead of the other way around.

Of course, this raises difficult questions too.

How much are we actually willing to surrender to God?
What would happen if He asked us to let go of something deeply valuable to us?
Would we obey?
Would I?

Those are uncomfortable questions because they expose what we truly worship. It’s easy to say “God first” when it costs little. It becomes harder when obedience requires sacrifice.

“Whoever does not take his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me.” — Matthew 10:38

But maybe that’s part of the journey of faith — continually reevaluating our priorities and allowing God to reshape them over time.

Not out of guilt.
Not out of legalism.
But because we’ve begun realizing that life with God is actually better.

Or as Larry David of Curb Your Enthusiasm would say… it’s been “pret-ty, pret-ty, pret-ty…pretty good.”