I once worked in a small media production outfit, where one morning, I sat in a meeting with my boss. He had to make a decision to embark on an ambitious new direction for the small business (he was the owner), he wanted to know one thing before we move forward.

“Is there something God is asking you to do, that you are currently not doing?”

The question itself yields to a number of answers specific to it. But outside the specific question itself, I’m reminded of that basic command of God to seek him first, before all other things. That is part and parcel of the very first commandment. For a lot of us, myself included, that is one of the hardest things to do.

In recent months, I decided to go through a personal overhaul. In short, too many things had made their way into my state of mind, and it was time to clean house. In one of the moments that came within that process, a constant realization seems to persist. A lot of what is coming in, is coming in through the door left open by something old. One way or another, new devils are guided in only by old ones.

As the past couple of years have gone by, the tragic fall of one public figure after the other, could at least serve as vivid reminders. No good deed, or life’s work, substitutes for the holiness demanded of the soul. The failure in a corrupted heart is still painful no matter how impressive the work of the hands.

Luckily for some of us, we may still be at the stage early enough, that we haven’t done too much damage. In this stage, there is truly no time like the present. If scripture is right that our yea should be yea, and our nay should be nay, then it is time to prioritize the workings of our hearts before anything else. It is also demanded, that we seek the Lord first, before whatever we get on with in the day.

As I undertake the attempt to see my ideas to fruition (this outlet being one of them), I cannot afford to overlook the day to day circumstances God has placed before me. I must cultivate the habits that reflect the work of my hands. I must also shed anything that detracts from the idea of myself I put out there. What a man purports to be, is exactly what he should be. I cannot just want my culture to be godly. I too, must be godly. Even in my most private moments. And that means that I must seek the will of God before inserting my own.

We’ll keep this project going, with that understanding. In all the craziness that might happen here, I would like it reflective of my life as a man who seeks the Lord first, before anything else. I hope the same for you too, in all that you do.