Rock Beats Paper

And by paper I mean, well... everything!

Yesterday I mentioned that we should be focusing on rocks and pebbles rather than sand or water. Here's my version of the story behind that.

A science teacher stood in front of his class one day with an empty jar and a bag of rocks. He asked the class if they thought the jar was full, and they all agreed it was not full. The teacher proceeded to pour the bag of rocks into the jar. The rocks perfectly filled the jar all the way to the top. The teacher asked the class again if the jar was full, the class agreed that the jar was now full.

Next the teach pulled out a bag of pebbles. He proceeded to pour the pebbles into the jar. The students gasped as every pebble managed to find a place to fit around the large rocks. The teacher asked again if the jar was full and the students agreed once again that the jar was now completely full.

Then the teacher pulled our a bat of sand and proceeded to pour it into the jar. The tiny particles of sand fit perfectly around the rocks and pebbles until every little crevice was filled with sand. The teacher asked the class if the jar was full and the students of course agreed.

Finally the teacher pulled out a cup of water and began pouring it into the jar. The class couldn't believe that the water managed to fit around the rocks, pebbles and sand. As the teacher finished pouring the water he asked the class if they thought the jar was full and they all laughed and agreed that it was now completely full.

The teacher then said that he was going to do the same thing, but in reverse. So he pulled out another empty jar and he started by pouring the water in, then the sand and finally the pebbles. At this point the jar is nearly full and the teacher tried to pour the rocks in but only a few manged to stay in the jar, the rest fell onto the desk.

That jar represents our life, the rocks represent God, the pebbles are our family and friends and the sand and water is sports, video games, TV, etc. When you fill your life with sand and water, you don't have enough room for the things that are really important. So start by being loyal to God, your family and your friends first. Make them your priority, the things that don't matter will still fit in your life, they just won't be as important.