First Love

There has been something I have been asking myself about ever since I typed it.  It was from a speech by Coolidge.  What I have been asking myself is “How do I know if I am making something number one in my life and it should not be?
Some things I just know that I know that I know.  If I put it before my family there is a good chance it is wrong.  How would I know if my love of table tennis had become something warped?  Sacrificing family time is not a good sign.  Obsessing about it all the time would not be a good sign.  Someone left the club because table tennis had become a 24/7 obsession and they saw that was not good.   They returned again when the love of the game had again become more balanced.  The trouble is they seem to obsess about another sport now.
The love of many things is healthy.  I have abilities and talents I need to develop to be the best I can be.  I also love to watch and play many sports.  I am convinced there is nothing wrong with that.  I am comfortable with it.
A warning sign to me is when I am willing to compromise my core values to achieve an end.  It is an extreme example but I think of the gambler.  When they fall on tough times the solution is seen as not to stop, but to source illegitimate income.  How often have I heard about a family going without, to service the wants of someone else.  That is never right.
But it is often more subtle than that.  There may be nothing wrong with the activity, but I may have exalted it to a position where I put it first in my life. That to me is the tell-tale sign that all is perhaps not as it should be.  There can only be one number one.  Like in American sport.  There cannot be a tie.  Extra time is played until there is a winner.
For me it is important I get my priorities right.  The saying “I should have spent more time at work” is unheard of.  Yet it would be just a valid to dismiss the possibility of me saying, “I should have collected more stamps,” or “If only I had spent more time getting  better at table tennis” (that is a given).
I don’t need to be in church to have a religion.  It often goes by a different name but that is what it is.  It could be the wife, or husband, or kids, or the job, or friends, or the recreational activity.  It is number one.
I reckon a strong attachment is good.  Any of the above being my strongest attachment is not good.  For starters every one of those can let me down.  I am bewildered when I see ancient Egyptian tombs containing a member of royalty, and a boat, and food, and sometimes a servant.  It seems to me to be a hope built on shaky ground.
I just know I need to be careful.  I love certain things and so I should.  What is loved varies for everyone.  What I don’t think should vary for anyone is the first love.