There was once a very wise teacher, whose words of wisdom students would come from far and wide to hear. One day as usual, many students began to gather in the teaching room. They came in and sat down very quietly, looking to the front with keen anticipation, ready to hear what the teacher had to say.

          Eventually the teacher came in and sat down in front of the students. The room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. On one side of the teacher was a large glass jar. On the other side was a pile of dark grey rocks. Without saying a word, the teacher began to pick up the rocks one by one and place them very carefully in the glass jar. When all the rocks were in the jar, the teacher turned to the students and asked, 'Is the jar full?' 'Yes,' said the students. 'Yes, teacher, the jar is full'.

          Without saying a word, the teacher began to drop small round pink pebbles carefully into the large glass jar so that they fell down between the rocks. When all the pebbles were in the jar, the teacher turned to the students and asked, 'Is the jar now full?' The students looked at one another and then some of them started nodding and saying, 'Yes. Yes, teacher, the jar is now full. Yes'.

          Without saying a word, the teacher took some fine silver sand and let it trickle with a gentle sighing sound into the large glass jar where it settled around the pink pebbles and the dark grey rocks. When all the sand was in the jar, the teacher turned to the students and asked, 'Is the jar now full?'

          The students were not so confident this time, but the sand had clearly filled all the space in the jar so a few still nodded and said, 'Yes, teacher, the jar is now full. Now it's full'.

          Without saving a word, the teacher took a jug of water and poured it carefully, without splashing a drop, into the large glass jar. He asked the students:

          What is the lesson we can draw from this demonstration? A young student raised his hand and said:

          You can always add more things, no matter how busy someone's life is!

          Not exactly, the lecturer said. The main point is: if you don’t place the large rocks inside the vessel first, you’ll never be able to put them into the container.

          The teacher gave the student another glass jar, similar to the first one. He also gave him the same amount of rocks, pebbles, silver sand, sand and water. The student began the experiment by trying to place these materials inside the jar, but wasn’t able to.

          The teacher then explained to the boy:

          The big rocks are the important things in your life: your moral and spiritual growth, family relationships as well as friendships. Other things will adjust themselves when you give priority to these.

          But if you only fill your life with the little things, you’ll never have room for those that are really important. You can re-start, if you have filled your life so far with little things. There’s still time to reverse the order of things.

          Jesus warned: "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."

          The kingdom of God is in our privacy, as stated by the teacher several times. Thus, by engaging with our spiritual growth, we are giving priority to the really great things. Think about it!

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