God First, Then Extras

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. (Matthew 6:33)

See how the Bible opens: "In the beginning God." Let your life open in the same way. Seek with your whole soul, first and foremost, the kingdom of God, as the place of your citizenship, and His righteousness as the character of your life. As for the rest, it will come from the Lord Himself without your being anxious concerning it. All that is needful for this life and godliness "shall be added unto you."

What a promise this is! Food, raiment, home, and so forth, God undertakes to add to you while you seek Him. You mind His business, and He will mind yours. If you want paper and string, you get them given in when you buy more important goods; and just so all that we need of earthly things we shall have thrown in with the kingdom. He who is an heir of salvation shall not die of starvation; and he who clothes his soul with the righteousness of God cannot be left of the Lord with a naked body. Away with carping care. Set all your mind upon seeking the Lord. Covetousness is poverty, and anxiety is misery: trust in God is an estate, and likeness of God is a heavenly inheritance. Lord, I seek Thee; be found of me.

Faith's Checkbook by C.H. Spurgeon

Lessons Learned: To seek first God’s Kingdom is to conform our will to the will of God. Our goals must be His goals. Our priorities must be His priorities. Everything we do must be for the glory of God. If we seek His Kingdom, we obey His commandments. We seek to love Him, and our neighbors. We seek to make disciples of all nations, to bring more people into the Kingdom, so they may be saved by God’s grace and He would be glorified. To seek God’s Righteousness is to seek sanctification. God calls us to be holy because He is Holy. We are finite and imperfect, but our goal should be to seek the higher rewards instead of lowly, earthly riches. If we concentrate on conforming to God’s will and conforming to the image of Christ, then God, the good Father will be faithful to provide our every need.

Applications: I need to always remember that God must be my number one priority. No matter how busy I may get with worldly activities, what is truly important is to glorify and enjoy God. I must seek His Kingdom and His Righteousness first, so I must obey His commands and His will. I must constantly seek His glory, not my own. I must seek to advance His Kingdom, even at the expense of losing worldly rewards. I must look for opportunities to be loving to all people and to share the gospel message with those who are lost and unsaved. This is God’s plan, and I must make it my purpose. I need not worry about the “necessities” of life, because God has already promised to provide what I need.

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