_{Regarding life together and getting along with each other, you don’t need me to tell you what to do. You’re God-taught in these matters. Just love one another! 1 Thessalonians 4:9 (MSG)}

_{I don’t remember the time or the place or the conference, but the question the moderator asked has stuck in my mind. What I recall most vividly is the answer that immediately flashed into my thoughts.}

_{Here is the question: Suppose you’re in a rubber life raft with a friend. You’re approaching an island. The raft is leaking, and you are within sight of land. In the raft with you are a set of signal flares, a}

_{week’s supply of canned food, and a five gallon container of}

_{water. You must throw one of these items overboard if you’re}

_{going to make it to the island. Which one do you choose?}

_{I have to admit, the first answer that hit me was “the friend.”}

_{Now don’t sit there with a pious “I’ve never thought anything like that” look! This silly thought that leaped into my mind was a reminder of how easy it is to value things over people. And who among us hasn’t struggled with that feeling?}

_{Priorities become most important when we must make choices. If we had enough time to do everything, everything could be a priority.}

_{But we don’t have enough time to do everything.}

_{If we had the power to do every good thing we wanted to do, our choices wouldn’t be so important. But we can’t do every good thing we want to do.}

_{When Jesus spoke about the priority of relationships, he could not have been clearer. He taught that relationships must be given the highest of values. (H) God_bless you members! Thomas}