Seek First the Kingdom of God!

Last month I revisited Genesis in my personal Bible study. You know, it’s really hard to understand how in the world Adam and Eve messed up so terribly! It brings to mind the young professional athletes who seemingly have everything, but lose it all to irresponsible behavior. Hmmm… I think there may be a pattern here. What about me? I could never be guilty of the same offense! Or could I?

Adam and Eve had it better than any other human on Earth! It was paradise! How could the adversary make a better offer than what they already had? This seemed impossible to me. So the scheme devised was to tempt them into their own ruin. This is still the biggest temptation for which we fall. The temptation to be our own god.

If you’re not familiar with the story of Adam and Eve, please take a moment and read it here. 

The thing about being your own god is that you automatically cut yourself off from the true God. Your whole perspective of life is skewed. It shifts your focus from God’s kingdom to your own kingdom. This is a place you don’t want to find yourself! It is a precarious place where many things in life could happen that you never thought would happen. I mean, do you think that Adam and Eve ever thought that they would get kicked out of the Garden of Eden?!

“Seek first the kingdom of God,

and His righteousness…”

So how are we supposed to protect ourselves? In Matthew 6:33, we are instructed to, “seek first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness.” This is how you avoid the temptation! This is also where we often get into trouble!

Do this little test: When you wake up tomorrow morning, make a mental note of the first thoughts you have. This will let you know what you’re “seeking” first.

For many of us it is thoughts of our to do list for the day such as errands to run, paying a bill, or getting to work on time. After that we are usually off and running to get it done! Instead, try reading the Bible each morning. Just a verse or short passage will do but take time to understand it and contemplate on it. If you read something you don’t understand, pray that it’s meaning would be revealed to you.

Let’s look at the second half of Matthew 6:33. It says, “and all these things will be given to you as well.” For full context read, Matthew 6:25-34 by clicking here to open in a new tab.  Let me give you a hint. Our lives are not supposed to be about seeking things! This half of the verse is our assurance that God will provide for us. He tells us throughout this passage that he doesn’t want us to fret away our days worried about our most basic needs! The danger lies in that we are inundated with distractions. Advertisements are everywhere, enticing us, and convincing us why we need their product. We end up spending all of our time trying to “give all these things” to ourselves and not seeking His kingdom at all.

“When we find ourselves constantly thinking about all the things we want to acquire, we become slaves to our desires. “

We have to remove ourselves from that mentality in order to be truly free. When we seek first the kingdom of God immediately each and every day, it sets the order for everything else to follow. You are putting yourself smack in the middle of God’s will, and setting yourself up to receive blessings!

From my nest to yours,
Jo