First Things First!

We all have an idea of what we think is most important and those things probably parallel the personal interests that we have and the things that we enjoy most. From a very familiar Bible passage I would like to challenge your minds and hearts to consider what God says should be first. It is recorded in the Gospel of Matthew and is found in a passage that is commonly called the Sermon on the Mount. Here Jesus is instructing not only His disciples but many others that had gathered to hear this unusual man speak that spoke with much more authority than they had been accustomed to hearing from the mouths of the scribes and Pharisees.

In Chapter 6 and verse 33 Jesus said, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” The context suggests that many were overly concerned with pleasing people while others had the acquisition of material things as the most important objective in life. Along the way Jesus tried to arrest their attention by making statements such as “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” (v. 21) and from verse 24, “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” He then asked some pertinent questions regarding their own abilities to make themselves taller and if they reasoned that they were better that the birds of the air. His point was that if God wisely and lovingly cared for the flowers of the field and the birds of the air, does it not make sense that He will also care for the part of His creation into which He placed a soul? To this group of attentive listeners He pointedly said that they should always seek Him first in everything they do. You know, this is wise advice and advice that is every bit as pertinent today as in times past. We continue to serve self, seek to satisfy self and yet we seem to always come up short. Therefore, permit me to throw down a Biblical challenge to all that read this. Consciously apply the principle of Matthew 6:33 to your life; seek Him first; seek His priorities before your own; seek His ways before your ways; seek His will ahead of your own. Your flesh will resist this action, but in time, as you determine to apply His truths to your own life you will discover that you do not have less in this life but you have so much more. Your life will be more fulfilled, more satisfying and every day will resound with purpose and meaning. The truth is that He does care for you and for me. He does desire to bless us in every area of our lives, and all He asks is that we purposely and consistently “seek Him first”.

Believers in Jesus Christ, let’s get “first things first” and then rest in His promise that “all these things shall be added unto you.”