Four ways to know what matters most to you

What are you most hungry for in life?

We all know what we’re supposed to want — a closer relationship with Jesus, great marriages, godly kids, world peace. But what do our lives actually revolve around?

If you’re hungry for something — if you really want it — your life will show it in multiple ways.

Jesus said living the way God’s made us to live, what the Bible calls righteousness, is the only way our hunger will be fulfilled (Matthew 5:6). Our hunger should be for following Jesus and doing what He says, because He promises we’ll be blessed by knowing Him.

Here’s a brief self-diagnosis to discover what you’re sincerely hungry for. Ask these four questions to see what’s truly important to you:

1. What do you spend your money on?

What you put your money toward, your heart will follow (Matthew 6:21). If you are financially involved in something, you’re emotionally and mentally involved in it, too. Watch your checkbook to see what you’ve made important enough to spend a lot of money on.

2. How do you spend your time?

The things we spend time doing point to what we care about. Time is more valuable than money because we can never earn back time we’ve spent. If all our time is consumed in the pursuit of gaining a possession, a feeling or a selfish goal, our time won’t be used wisely as God intends (Psalm 90:12).

3. What do you pray for and worry about?

Our fears are a good indicator of what we’re most concerned about. The thoughts we entertain become the actions we take. We cannot expect to live fully obedient to Jesus if we don’t line up our thoughts with God’s thoughts (1 Corinthians 10:5).

Certainly, prayer is a good thing God wants us to do. But when we’re praying only for our wellbeing and blessings rather than confessing sins, praying for our church and asking God to save those far from Him, we should step back to consider if we really hunger for what Jesus is concerned with (Luke 11:2-4).

4. What do you talk about most?

If our conversations, Twitter feeds and Facebook posts are filled with gossip, endless negativity, or desiring someone or something, we should reconsider where our attention lies.

Whatever fills our hearts and thoughts will fill our speech. The things we say reveal the attitude inside of us (Matthew 15:18). We may try to persuade others it isn’t so, but our inner lives spill into our outer lives regardless of how much we can control what we say.