My preacher, Ed Mellott, recently gave an awesome Sunday evening sermon about priorities. I took it to heart, as we all should when it comes to this.

The definition of priority is: “A thing that is regarded as important as another. The thing that someone cares about and thinks is important and/or the condition of being more important than something else and therefore coming or being dealt with first.”

We all have priorities in life as well at work, and play. I’m sure most people have religion as their main priority, or should have, as we all want to be able to go to that Promised Land when our time is up in life.

I don’t want to get into this as much as I want to, but for me and my wife, that is our ultimate goal after our life is over, and that is enough about religion.

For work, of course, it’s to make money to be able to make a living for our family. Sometimes in business they sometimes change your priority into theirs, if you work for a company. It might not be the priority you would have had, but you would do what you have to, if you want to keep your job.

But what is important to one person isn’t what is important to another in basically the same thing, and therefore you must deal with it.

In the newspaper business, especially sports, there are loads of priorities.

The first is to make sure you get the story right – have a bulldog opening, make sure you get the right score, and get the names right, spelling wise. Try your best to get the facts right and to feel like you did the best you can. Another priority in your story is to have a nice photo that goes with the story.

However, when more than one person gets into the story by editing and sometimes changing a word here and there, it changes one person’s priority to another’s. When a story is edited, it’s really not done on purpose – but to make sure the story/stories are grammar correct, which doesn’t happen to often. But, when it goes to a third party, it’s their priority to get it on paper for people to see, and sometimes more than one wants, the priority is changed differently than what was originally wanted. When it comes to print, it’s sometimes not what the writer ultimately wanted.

As a photographer, your goal might be to have a particular photo to go in the paper, but for space reasons, the picture doesn’t get in. You see, there are two different priorities – one for the photographer and another for editing.

In play, one athlete’s goal is not always what another has. But when you get the whole team into one goal, it’s AWESOME to watch, and even better to write and to edit, so it’s a win-win for all.

Last year,when Magnolia won the boys track championship in the OVAC Class 3A and the Class A state, as well as when they won the Class AA state football championship, these guys all had the same priority, and it was nice not only to the coaches that gave the boys a goal.

It’s the same this season in all sports. You have a team priority to meet, as well as each player. When they all get in sync together, it’s wonderful. However, not all priorities are met, as some teams just doesn’t have the THING that other teams have, so their priorities become different than coaches and players have, and new priorities are needed.

What I’m trying to say is that in high school sports – you, your parents and friends all have different priorities, but to be successful in sports – and in life too – do your best, and follow your coaches’ priorities. In business, follow your priorities until the ones that are in charge changes. They are in charge; until you can change places, do what you’re told and work together in attaining the priority.

However, the ultimate priority and goal is to love your neighbors and do unto others as you would want others to for you, and in the end we all can be together as one priority HEAVEN.