Hey Y'all! I went to the Bible Study last Thursday at Church and we took a quiz to reevaluate our priorities and spiritual status. I scored 16 points I need some major revamps :(( Anyways, I'd like to share this with you all. I don't know where our Pastor got this from, but I thank the source.


Six Symptoms of Misplaced Priorities

1.Excessive Busyness

How to know: People who love you are saying “slow down” (1 point). You feel held hostage by time; your clock has become the enemy (2 points). Your kids are clinging to your leg right now (2 points).

2. Stress/Burnout

How to know: You are uptight, experiencing chest pain, having trouble sleeping (2 points). You are restless, uneasy (2 points). It’s hard to make decisions (1 point). You are not very happy (3 points). You have a feeling of being totally worn out (4 points)

3. Low Grade, Nagging Guilt

How to know: You feel bad about yourself, unfulfilled. There are a lot of things you know are important (that you even tell others to do), that you’re not doing. It’s getting to you, robbing you of peace, and you’re feeling like a hypocrite (5 points).

4. Mounting Financial Pressure

How to know: Money’s tight for you. Credit card bills are piling up, and debt continues to rise (5 points). There always seem to be too much “month” left at the end of the money (3 points). A budget, to you, is a “good idea,” not something you’re practicing right now (3 points). You’re doing research on the difference between Chapter Eleven and Chapter Thirteen (8 points). You’re not giving your first portion to the Lord, and you can’t see any way in the world to do it… which adds to your guilt (5 points)

5. Spiritual Leakage

How to know: Your prayers consist mostly of quick, one-sided conversations in the shower or the car (5 points). You pray mostly with others, but not much alone (4 points). You don’t feel close to God (3 points). You feel like you’re on a spiritual roller coaster (3 points). Your Bible reading is hit and miss – more miss than hit (5 points). You feel like you’re drifting spiritually, but can’t find time to turn things around (5 points).

6. Escapism Behavior

How to know: You find yourself finding ways to “get away,” not to relax, but to escape responsibility. You’re developing habits of impulse buying (2 points), thrill seeking (1 point), purposeless driving (1 point), lots of eating out (3 points), excessive television (4 points). You recently took a vacation you couldn’t afford, just because you couldn’t “take it” anymore (7 points).


Scoring:

Add your total from each category:

Excessive Busyness

Stress/Burnout

Low Grade/Nagging guilt

Mounting Financial Pressure

Spiritual Leakage

Escapism Behavior


0-3 points Congratulations! We’d like to take a seminar from you!

6-15 points You’re off to a good start, with only some minor mid-course corrections to make

16-30 points It’s time to make some major changes in your life. Get ready!

31-50 points The trends in your life have you headed for disaster, and you need to make radical changes.

51+ points Danger Zone! Do not proceed without getting immediate help.


As you can see, misplaced priorities can be destructive in multiple areas of our lives. Symptoms that may seem “temporary” concessions in front end, appearing as minor aberrations, are the gateways to disaster. But don’t be discouraged! God has given us clear directives on how to find genuine peace, fulfillment and productivity in our lives.