Intro to Chapter 15: Getting Our Priorities Straight.
Commitment to work and to family are good things. Too little commitment to either is likely to generate scorn. Lazy bum, goof-off, philanderer—none of these are terms of respect. Yet it is possible to be too committed to one’s work, and workaholic is not a term of approbation.
It is possible even to be too devoted to one’s family. The desire to benefit relatives does not add anything to the moral quality of lying, cheating, and stealing. Doing what is right comes first, as does our relationship with God.
“Love your neighbor,” as important as it is, is only the second greatest commandment. Our first obligation is to love God, love not in the sense of emotional attachment, but in the sense of doing things to please Him, expending physical, intellectual and moral energy in His service. To love God first puts our other loves into redeeming perspective.