What is "First and Best?"

The idea for "First and Best" came from a thought the Lord gave me in early 2023 as I was driving to the office one morning. What I heard Him say was this, "Todd, please tell the people I've sent to you that I deeply and desperately want to be in a relationship with them and that I want the "First and Best" of their time every day. Not their leftovers, but their "First and Best" every day. And Todd, if they do this, I will move in their lives and marriage and begin to transform them!"

Why would He say this to me? I believe scripture is clear that the Lord created mankind to be in relationship with Him and He desperately desires to be in a deep and meaningful relationship with us, His creation. God is a personal Being, and it gives Him pleasure to have other beings He can have a genuine relationship with. See Revelation 4:11, Colossians 1:16, Genesis 1:27, John 15:14-15.

Any parent of grown, adult kids knows this feeling! Jodi and I ache when we don't see our kids and their families for extended periods of time. If we feel this way about mortal, flesh and blood relationships, just imagine how much more God aches to spend time and be in relationship with us?

So what does this look like practically speaking? Giving the Lord our "First and Best" each day means prioritizing our relationship with Him above everything else, setting aside the initial part of our day to engage with Him through devotion, prayer, and reflection. This practice acknowledges God's place as the "supreme" relationship in our lives, it ushers us into His throne room, and expresses our gratitude for His continual presence, guidance, and love in our lives. When we give God the first moments of our day, we're choosing to align our hearts and minds with His purposes, inviting His wisdom and peace to guide our decisions, attitudes, and actions every day.

Starting the day with Him reflects a conscious commitment to not only seek His will but also to trust in His provision, regardless of what the day might bring. This act of surrender demonstrates that we value God above our daily concerns and responsibilities. The "best" refers to our willingness to be fully present, attentive, and open to the Spirit’s leading, free from distractions or the residue of the day's later demands. We purposefully engage with Him and allow Him to walk with us daily.

Martin Luther, the 16th-century reformer who boldly stood for truth in the face of great opposition, once said, "I have so much to do that I shall spend the first three hours in prayer." Luther understood something vital—that he didn’t stand a chance against the weight of the day apart from God. He knew that thriving in his calling and accomplishing what the Lord had put before him required divine strength, not just human effort. To Luther, God was not an accessory to productivity but the very source of it. He got it—starting with God wasn’t a luxury, it was essential.

Biblically, giving our “First and Best” is a principle rooted in the idea of tithes and offerings, such as in Proverbs 3:9, which teaches, "Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops." While this verse addresses material resources, the underlying principle can apply to time and focus I believe as well. You see, I believe "time" is an "asset" just like "money" is, and we must steward it well and make sure we are investing it, our time, into our Creator because He desires to be in relationship with Him! By dedicating our initial thoughts, energies, and quietness to God, we are essentially offering Him the "firstfruits" of our day, symbolizing trust, reverence, and devotion. This daily habit can reshape our outlook, strengthen our resilience, and continually remind us of God's faithfulness, equipping us to reflect His love and wisdom in every interaction and responsibility we encounter throughout the day.