Seek First…

Matthew 6:33  But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

Here’s a teaching of our Lord that has been forgotten, or, at the least, placed on a shelf while we busy ourselves with other things.

It’s interesting to note that the context of this teaching is about worry.

Matthew 6:25  "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?
     And yet how many of us disobey this command of the Lord (He said “I tell you…”, not “I advice you”, or “maybe you can give this a try”) when we become anxious and worried about our life.  What occupies our life today is what we will eat, drink or wear.  Of course today we have extras like – when will I have my iPad, or buy a new car, house, etc.

In this verse our Lord reminds us of what is more important – our life more than food and drink, our body more than our clothes.  But today we have made the externals more important than our bodies.

The Lord continues further:

Mat 6:31  So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?'
Mat 6:32  For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.
     Notice in verse 31 the focus on what we say – “what shall we eat?  what shall we drink?  This isn’t referring to positive confession, but to our words expressing what our hearts believe.  Do we still wonder where our food, drink and clothes come from?

And look at our Lord’s obvious comparison to pagans, people who don’t have a God – “for the pagans RUN AFTER ALL THESE THINGS.  Hmmm…I wonder, does this describe the kind of life we are living – running to and fro, here and there, back and forth for what we will eat, drink, use and wear?  Then, as our Lord says, we are like pagans.

His last point before verse 33 is a reminder of who our Father is – “your heavenly Father knows that you need them”.  He knows.  He is your Father.  He knows what you need.

So what should we be running after?  “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

What are we seeking for in this life?  Is God just a means to what we are seeking for?  Or is He the One we seek, the One we cannot live without, the One who gives us life…real life.

God reminds us to SEEK Him FIRST.  Seek His kingdom.  Seek the reign and the realm of the King of your life.  Seek His righteousness.  What gives us joy, and satisfaction, is not what we have in this life, but Who we live it with, and how we walk in it.

God’s promise – “and all these things (what we will eat, drink and wear) will be given to us as well”.  Notice the “as well”?  If we seek His kingdom and righteousness first, God will give it to us.  He will allow us to enjoy the blessings and benefits of the kingdom and His life.  Plus, all that we need as well.  The things we eat, drink and wear – they’re just the bonuses of life.  Why run after them?  Why worry about them?  What we should be running after, living for and seeking in this life is to be with the King, live in His kingdom, and walk in His righteousness.