Some priorities we set. Some are set for us.

On a computer, many people like to be "the administrator" because they think that makes them important. After all, doesn't the administrator user have the ability to delete any file, add any software, etc? Isn't the administrator practically god on the computer'?

While that is true, the real, useful power comes from having priority. When I was a student at college, there was a pretty girl who took classes with me. The admins in the back room set the priority for her account very high. That meant for example that when she wanted to print, her document went to the head of the queue. She was able to run her assignments very quickly, since with her elevated priority she got dibs on memory and other resources.

Yet she didn't have any special permissions over anyone else. She just had priority over others. One day though there came a time where she had some large application to run. On the VAX system, there was already another job going for one of the school faculty. Her app ran just fine - but the teacher's job crashed due to resource starvation. All the system was given over to this girl because her priority was set so high! Some geeky guys had some serious explaining to do that day (and it made the campus paper, which is why I happened to know about it)

The fact is, like children what we want is not always what we need or best for us. We may want total control of our computer but how would it be if we asked it to play solitaire and it shut down other services like the network, the video driver, etc? We hurt ourselves out of ignorance. Like having parents who only give us cookies, when our body needs nutrients.

A very good administrator knows the system and all the jobs running and, is able to show favor to one user without hurting anyone else, or even allowing that particular user to hurt themselves.

When we pray, we are asking not to "be" God but to get priority from God. We have various desires, usually in our mind "needs" and we want God to help us get them. We don't always remember that there are many other people in the universe - we act and feel as if we own God and that he exists to grant our requests. While it is true that God does want to help us and is swift to come to our aid, it is ALSO true that sometimes the answer is no. God knows the order of the universe, the sum of it, and how all things fit together. He knows if what we are asking for is something good for others and for ourselves, or not.

There is an interesting statement from Jesus -- the first shall be last and the last shall be first. When we try to get ahead and grab the priority with God at the expense of all others, he is unwilling to help us. But if we remember another thing Jesus said - blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy - we can know with confidence the way to get our jobs the priority we want is to make service to others a priority in our life. It's amazing how often I set my own troubles aside and help someone else, only to find I end up solving my own at the same time. You see, God is the ultimate multiasker!

Randy