In one of his books, Stephen Covey relates a story about a professor who placed a one-gallon container on a table in front of him. He then set about a dozen fist-size rocks on the table and, one at a time, placed them into the jar.

“Is this jar full?” he asked, after putting all the rocks inside the jug.

“Yes,” everyone said.

He then grabbed a bag of gravel from under the table and proceeded to dump the smaller rocks into the jar—shaking the container as he went in order to work the smaller pieces into the spaces between the bigger rocks.

“Is it full?” he asked again.

“Probably not,” the class said, sensing that he was going to take it a step further.

He then poured a bag of sand into the container and again shook the jar to help the sand fill in all the cracks and crevices between the larger rocks and the gravel. Finally, the professor grabbed a pitcher of water and emptied it into the jar, filling it all the way to the brim.

“What is the point of this demonstration?” he asked the class.

“No matter how busy you are, there is always room to fit more into your schedule,” one student blurted out.

“No,” said the professor. “The lesson is this: If you don’t put the big rocks in first, you’ll never be able to squeeze them all in later.”

Spiritually speaking, the biggest rock we must place in the jar every day has to do with our relationship with God. Prayer and Bible study are the most important activities we have every day. And unless we get into the habit of placing that rock in the jar first, it may not fit in to the jar later.

Galatians 6:7 says, “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” As any farmer knows, in order to reap a bountiful harvest, one must first prepare and work the soil, carefully plant each seed and then care for and nurture those plants as they sprout—protecting them from weeds, watering them, and so on. Then, at the absolute end of that whole process, you will finally be able to reap the fruit.

The principle God is trying to teach with this parable is that diligent work and effort always precede the fruitful blessings and rewards. And sometimes, those blessings don’t appear until after many months, or even years, of hard, diligent labor.

We can’t skip all the hard work and rush to the harvest! God says if we want to reap the blessings of growth and prosperity, we must sow the right way. As Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 9:6, “He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.”

Consider what Jesus taught in Matthew 6. He said in verse 22, “The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.” If your mind, in other words, is focused right, then your whole life will be full of light!

Later, Jesus said, “Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?” (verse 25). God knows we have physical needs (see also verses 31-32). What Jesus is saying is that God will help to supply those needs as long as we tend to the spiritual needs first.

Notice! “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you” (verse 33).

What a fantastic, life-altering promise this is! Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. Make it your biggest rock.

Then, at the end of the day, you will have squeezed more into the jar than you ever thought possible!