But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. – Matthew 6:33 (NIV)
But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. – Matthew 6:33 (KJV)
Theme: Priorities
Today, perhaps more than ever before, it seems like we’re flooded with activities and interests competing for our time, attention, and resources — our jobs, school work, family time/events, friends, sports, hobbies, volunteering, church events, tasks around the home…the list seems never ending. Many of these competing priorities are “good” things, but there simply aren’t enough hours in the day (or dollars in the bank account) to tackle them all. That forces us to make tough choices about which activities are most important to us…and our choices say a lot about our true priorities.
It turns out that Jesus had some straightforward guidance for us regarding priorities: “…seek ye first the kingdom of God…” (emphasis mine). Jesus spoke these words during his Sermon on the Mount, and he was encouraging his followers to prioritize eternal Heavenly matters over the temporary matters of this world. Let’s be honest…it’s easy for us to get caught up in the pursuit of earthly “treasures” (money, popularity, material things, …), but Jesus warned against focusing on such things. He cautioned that the treasures we store up on earth can be stolen or destroyed, whereas the treasures we store up in Heaven are everlasting (see Matthew 6:19-21). His point wasn’t that we should ignore all earthly matters. To the contrary, God’s Word tells us to be good stewards of our earthly resources. His point was that seeking worldly gain should never take priority over seeking Heavenly gain.
Priorities…when time is short…when money is short…when other resources are short…our true priorities are revealed. In such times, whom or what do we choose to put first in our lives? Do we prioritize worldly matters and then try to fit God in with what’s left? Or do we seek Him first?
See The Briefcase for a great Pastor’s Pals story related to this theme.
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