JAMES ROBISON — “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him” (1 Cor. 2:9). I’d like to tell you one of the great statements that a man of God once said to me.

It was just one word: “Nevertheless.” At the time, even he didn’t know what it was supposed to mean for me. He said, “I just felt as if the Lord told me to say this word to you: ‘nevertheless.’”

He went home and prayed about it and came back and said, “You know, it troubled me all night that I didn’t have a clue what it meant. I could only find the word a few times in the Gospels, especially when Jesus said, ‘Let this cup pass from Me: nevertheless not as I will, but as You will’” (Matthew 26:39).

“What I heard the Lord saying to you, James, is that you are going to go through life with two paths always before you. One way may look better compared to others. But God is saying to you that there are two roads, and never, never, never take the less. Never take the lower. Take the high road. Take more from God’s hand.”

This simple statement made a great impression on me. God was saying, “Never the less.” The “less” is always something that pulls away from Him. The “less” can be the greatest, biggest, most powerful things in this world. But they are always less than the ultimate purpose of God.

I think everyone gets tempted to sell out for less than God’s best. That’s why we must teach our sons and daughters to keep God in first place.

When God called me to preach as a teenager, I was full of the energy of a young person. Transformed by God’s love, I wanted everyone to know how much He loved them as well. Then I got very busy, preaching, preaching, preaching …

You see, He’d told me He was going to use me and I was going to preach to stadiums full of people. He showed me millions of people and said I was going to preach to them. At the time, I had never even preached in church. The crowds came, but my love slowly cooled. My priorities gently shifted. It was subtle, but the change was real. Rather than my first love, God began slowly slipping down the list. Ever faithful, though, He called me back and helped me realign my priorities with His.

You see, good things — even great things accomplished for God’s Kingdom — can take us away from God. That’s when we begin settling for the “less” rather than the “more” from His hands. That’s when something else slips in and takes God’s place in our lives. Sometimes we don’t even realize it. Men can be distracted from God by work, godly calls to ministry, family activities and many other things. There’s no question those things are good. They are a healthy part of a balanced life.

But as the priority in your life, they are less … less than our Father’s close and constant presence.

My friend, do not choose the less! Not for you and not for your children. Show them by your example how to put God first in their lives. Every day, you have an opportunity to take the high road, a chance to choose God’s best or settle for less. And every day, your children will watch what you do. Make a conscious decision to inspire them to choose godliness, and they will follow you as you follow Christ.

“Whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.” (Philippians 3:7 NIV)

Taken from the book: A Dad’s Blessing, by James Robison. Reprinted with permission.