Sunday Sermons
Seek First
Seek First
“But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you” (Matthew 6:33).
The above verse begins with a contrast “but”, contrary to what many people in this world are eagerly seeking (material comforts, 6:31-32), eagerly seek and strive after God’s Kingdom, that is the church (find it, enter it, be an active part in it) and God’s level of righteousness (find out what you must do to be saved and then find out what level of morality God requires of you: Matthew 5:20). If someone might be tempted to ask, “Why should God’s kingdom and God’s righteousness be my first priority?” consider the following points:
Preparation for the Future
“Each day has enough trouble of its own” (Matthew 6:34). Someone observed that we need to make proper preparations for the future, for we will be spending the rest of our lives there. Tomorrow will bring a new set of trials and temptations, and every one of us will be tested (1 Corinthians 10:13). If we do not have the right priorities today, we will fail the tests of tomorrow. “Seek first is an interesting command because Jesus does not say what to ‘seek second’. He knows that He has nothing to worry about for the man who puts God’s will first and who trusts God for all the rest. Men are prone to put economic considerations first and to sacrifice moral principles for the sake of their daily bread. The plea ‘I must live’ is often advanced as an excuse for unethical behavior. When business men argue that ‘business is business’ they usually mean that it is exempt from ethical control” (Fowler pp. 389-390). The same truth is found in Matthew 7:24-27. The person who hears the words of Jesus and acts upon them, that is, places God first in their list of priorities, will be able to withstand the storms that will come against him in life. Yet the person who does not act upon what Jesus taught will find him or herself overwhelmed.
Strength to Resist Temptation
In the context of Matthew chapter 6, the temptation that Jesus is warning against is the temptation to serve material things (6:24). This particular temptation has many ramifications: 1. The temptation to hoard and place all our trust and security in possessions (6:19-20). That is, as long as I am surrounded by my stuff, I am safe. 2. The temptation of trying to buy to purchase peace of mind, contentment, and fulfillment (6:21 “for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also”). 3. The temptation to become greedy and envious when others have more, and thus the bitterness when others surpass you, the discontentment with what you do have. Someone noted that to make yourself miserable, “Make it your business to find out what the Joneses are buying this year and where they’re going. Try to do them at least one better even if you have to take out another loan”. 4. The temptation to live a very shallow life, “Is not life more than food, and the body than clothing?” (6:25). This includes the person caught up in “fiction wishing”, “Wouldn’t it be great if we had?” 5. The temptation that we can prolong our lives and stay perpetually young (6:27). 6. The constant worry or complaining about, “Who is going to take care of me?” (6:31)
Right priorities equal Freedom
“For this reason I say to you, do not be anxious for your life” (Matthew 6:25); “Therefore do not be anxious for tomorrow” (6:34). Worry and anxiety are the byproducts of having the wrong priorities. To become engrossed in material comforts is a false preoccupation. For one thing, it is unproductive, for another, it is unnecessary (for God knows what we need: 6:32), and finally, it is an unworthy view of ourselves, as if we were nothing more than animals that lived on a purely material plane. The right perspective in life, the right priority, is that God created us and also sustains us. This is a fact of everyday experience. We neither made ourselves, nor do we keep ourselves alive. We were created for a much higher purpose than to spend our lives searching and striving for material things, we were created to serve God (Ephesians 2:10 “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works”; Ecclesiastes 12:13 “The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person”; Matthew 6:24). If this is true, then God will enable the person who puts Him first to have enough time both to serve Him and others and to materially take care of himself and his family “and all these things shall be added to you” (6:33).
One lesson from Matthew chapter 6 is that something will catch our attention; something will become the focus in our life and the goal of our ambition. If our ambition or priority is not serving God, then we will become consumed by ambitions that are not noble or good. These ambitions, instead of strengthening us and helping us to mature and handle the uncertainties of life, will rather corrode and eat away at our strength, integrity, and character. We can become consumed by worry and anxiety (6:31-32), or a host of other corroding influences, “and the worries of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful” (Mark 4:19). Be impressed that seeking God, and making Him our first ambition does not have any unhealthy byproducts.
Right priorities equal a Healthy Mind
Saying that there are only two possible ambitions for human beings can sum up Matthew chapter 6. Ambition is either self-centered or God-centered, there is no third alternative. And where modest ambitions (enough to eat, drink, and to wear) or immodest ambitions (bigger house, faster car, higher salary, a wider reputation, more power), for self are all about my comfort, my wealth, my status and my power. Note, that only when God is placed first, do all other ambitions become healthy. Putting God first will enable us and will free us so that we are able to do other things well. We will be better parents, if God, instead of our selves, is the first priority. We will train our children up in God’s healthy ways (Ephesians 6:4), instead of passing on to the next generation a set of misdirected priorities and values (1 Peter 1:18 “from your futile ways of life inherited from your forefathers”). We will be better husbands and wives, for we will treat and love our spouses as God would have us (Ephesians 5:25 “Husbands love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church, and gave Himself up for her”), instead of treating them with a love that is directed by self-interest. We will become better neighbors and friends, for we will be treating people the way that God wants them treated instead of seeking to manipulate them. We will become better employees or employers for we will be constantly aware that we are working ultimately for God and not for a human boss, and that God is always aware of how we are treating people(Ephesians 6:5-9).
The Strength to be Virtuous
I really do believe that many people would like to be moral, ethical, and be known as a person of integrity. If God is our first priority, the motivation to resist temptation will be present, yet if God is not my first priority, then I will be tempted to sell my soul for a moment of sinful pleasure (Hebrews 11:25; 12:16). I will be tempted to grab everything for myself, to become greedy, unethical, and to sacrifice truth and honesty for another dollar. I will also be tempted when times get tough to sacrifice relationships, such as a marriage or family for what may look like greener pastures. How could a person become virtuous, patient, enduring, when they are all caught up in eagerly seeking physical comforts (6:32)? If you don’t seem to have the fortitude to resist temptation, to wait for a trial to pass, to trust God, then it probably is because God is not your first priority. Consider the following story: “I recall Ben Haden telling a story on his radio broadcast about traveling on a plane seated next to a young man. The young man had just received a new position, and was quite excited about it. It involved a major increase in salary, and Ben Haden asked him what he planned to do now. He responded that the first thing he would do was to buy a new, larger car. ‘What will you do then?’ asked Ben. ‘We’ll move into a larger home in a nicer neighborhood’. ‘And what will you do then?’ came Ben’s next question. The answer was, ‘I’ll send my kids to the best college possible’. ‘And what will you do then?’ persisted Ben. ‘I think we’ll join a good country club, and do some traveling.’ ‘And what will you do then?’ came the familiar question. ‘Eventually I’ll retire’. ‘What will you do then?’ asked Ben. ‘We’ll probably move to a warm climate, and I’ll do some fishing and golfing’. ‘What will you do then?’ asked Ben again. ‘I suppose I’ll die’, said the young man, becoming a bit impatient with this seemingly endless repetition of the same question. He need not have become impatient, however, for the question was asked just one more time, and this time without any reply from the young man: ‘And what will you do then?’ (Does it matter if God exists? Millard J. Erickson, pp. 127-128). Most people are like this young man, they might have the next 50 years of their lifetime planned out, but they have forgotten that such is not the end of their lives, but just the beginning of eternity.
Practical Applications
One mistake that many people make is that they are trying to get all the material and earthly things in their lives under control before they investigate the Bible. Do not make the mistake of placing earthly projects before the importance of your soul (Luke 12:15-21 “You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared? So is the man who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God”). When it comes to getting your life right with God, earthly things need to be put on the back burner (Luke 9:59-62).
Putting God first will enable you to maintain balance in life. You will possess things, but you will possess them and they will not possess you. You will be able to tell the difference between genuine love and temporary infatuation. You have will the strength to discipline your children, but it will not be discipline that arises out of anger or frustration. You will marry another imperfect human being, but you will love them (Titus 2:1-4). You will be attracted to your wife, but this attraction will not consist in a shallow lust (1 Thessalonians 4-5). You will be able to live in a world filled with temptation and corruption, but you will remain unspotted(James 1:26-27). You will do good deeds, but not for the purpose of drawing attention to yourself (Matthew 5:13-16). You will be able to help others without expecting anything in return.
Finally, putting God first will enable you to avoid living a dull life. Look again at Matthew chapter 6: “Is not life more than food, and the body than clothing?” (6:25) Placing all the emphasis on the physical, betrays a false view of human beings, as if they were only bodies needing to be fed, watered, clothed, and housed, and of human life, as if life were merely some sort of physical existence. “An exclusive preoccupation with food, drink, and clothing could be justified if physical survival were the be-all and end-all of existence. We just live to live” (Stott p. 162). The preoccupation with the material side of life downgrades human beings, but how many people in our society think that physical well being is the goal? Putting God first, frees a person to seek far more noble and worthy goals than working so they can retire. It is sad that so many people miss a lifetime of wonderful opportunities because their eyes are fixed on this earth. The Christian has been freed, by putting God first, to go out and pursue things that will last into eternity, to accomplish things that will really matter in the end, to accomplish something that will have eternal value, and to develop a character that can withstand the setbacks of life and will be honored in eternity (1 Peter 1:6-7; 2 Peter 1:5-11).
Mark Dunagan/Beaverton Church of Christ/503-644-9017
www.beavertonchurchofchrist.net/mdunagan@easystreet.com
