I have a great tennis friend who has a very particular way of making jokes. "As my grandmother used to say, nothing is over until it's over". The obviousness of the phrase, said at the right moment, makes us all lose concentration and fall into a collective laughter. In the same way, the phrase of today's blog, could be used for one of those moments; it is a true and very obvious statement. Is it?

From an early age, our parents have tried to educate our common sense. Common sense, the most common of senses, has a high cultural component. When someone hits us, the common thing is to hit him back, "Dad, dad, they hit me at school", the dad, depending on the culture and formation, gives him classes on how to hit him back or he hits him for letting himself be hit. That becomes our "common sense", the first reaction to that situation, "hit back".

I was raised in a Catholic family, in Catholic school, with many traditions that made it clear that God came first. But if so, the word says "If someone slaps you on one cheek, offer him the other cheek as well. If anyone demands your coat, offer him your shirt as well" Luke 6:29 NTV. So now what, should I hit him back or not? The answer is no longer so obvious, because my culture and teaching make me doubt or justify the act. -He started it, he deserved it, he is an abuser-.

For those who believe in God, faith is his word, and his word is life. Between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 2:1, we see in detail how God gave order to creation, and it is maintained to this day. Nothing has changed, we still breathe, see and smell the same, God's order has not changed.

The first commandment and the great commandment says "You shall love God above all things" and "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind". Matthew 22:37-38

"Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all else will be given to you as well" Matthew 6:33.

This means that if someone hits me, the first thing to do is to react as God asks me to; of course, we don't stand by and let them keep hitting us, we walk away and don't hit back. This response is to a physical or verbal aggression. "Do not return evil for evil".

What else in our lives doesn't have God first? First my job or God, first the soccer game, the meeting with friends, the trip to the beach? What is the reason for not getting up and thanking God? I turn on my phone and look for a prayer or devotional, or stop to pray in thanksgiving to the Lord, something that doesn't take more than a minute.

All of God's promises, all that the Lord has created for me are waiting for me to put the Lord first "pray for me, I am in this or that situation, I need God's help" And, is God first in your life?

It is time to pause and reflect, what have we put above our father God, that has separated us from doing his holy will. "Hallowed be thy name and thy will be done", so we declare and believe, because you are first God, "Obvious".

God bless you!