Welcome to another day the Lord has made that we should rejoice and be glad in. (Psalms 118:24)

Today let’s focus on what God says should be our first priority.

In today’s scripture, Matthew 6:33 (KJV), Jesus said…
But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

Consider…
Today’s verse is most likely a familiar one to you. It’s pretty self explanatory, seek God’s Kingdom and righteousness first. Yet implied in the emphasis on seeking first, is Jesus’ acknowledgement there are competing pursuits in our lives.

Let’s be honest, there’s a delicate balance between prioritizing God, and managing life’s priorities. For example, when seeing a person in need and needing to pay the rent, it’s a reasonable and prudent decision to prioritize paying the rent. Still, we wrestle with verses like 1 John 3:16 (NLT) in our decision making. It says…
We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters.

So should we sacrifice taking care of our need to help the other person in need? This sounds like the type of questions that Satan likes to ask to introduce doubt to our required devotion to God or flaws in our faith in God’s provision. But that’s why it’s imperative to know the complete word of God. For example, the very next verse asks the key question…
If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person? – 1 John 3:17 NLT

Sometimes Satan makes us fixate on either/or when God is teling us to focus on both/and. I believe this because Jesus was the Son of God, fully divine, and Son of Man, fully human. Our divine nature should never be in conflict with our human nature, rather it should direct it.

You see God will never tell us not to be good stewards with what He has given us, as Jesus taught with the parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14-30). Rather, God is saying that He wants His overflowing blessings, to flow through us. That looks like paying your rent and inviting the person in need into your home and feeding and clothing them as best you can. It’s about sharing what you have not sacrificing what you don’t.

The Holy Spirit led me to Acts 3:6‭-‬8 (NLT) to illustrate this point…
But Peter said, “I don’t have any silver or gold for you. But I’ll give you what I have. In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, get up and walk!” Then Peter took the lame man by the right hand and helped him up. And as he did, the man’s feet and ankles were instantly healed and strengthened. He jumped up, stood on his feet, and began to walk! Then, walking, leaping, and praising God, he went into the Temple with them.

Notice Peter gave the man healing power that Jesus had given to him in Luke 9:1.

Also pay attention to what Peter did after his healing words. The scripture says that he gave the man a helping hand, literally, and ushered him into the temple of God. When is the last time you invited a person in need to church with you? Or have you ever offered to take the person begging for food to eat with you?

Sharing what we have is embedded in Jesus’ command to ‘Seek Ye First’.

Hebrews 13:2 (NLT) summarizes the sharing point this
way…
Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it!

Having resolved the first delima of taking care of our priorities and prioritizing others, I asked the Holy Spirit, how else should I prioritize God. The response I got back was God wants you to consult Him in the beginning rather that after a decision has been made. What I mean is if you choose to pursue more than you need, you will create delimas between stewardship and your ability to bless others.

I believe one of the primary reasons that we choose to pursue more than we need or can afford is because we think it will make us envied and adored. Peer perception supercedes God’s direction. That’s another reason why Jesus says Seek Ye First… God wants us to submit our plans to Him. Proverbs 16:3 (NLT) teaches…
Commit your actions to the Lord, and your plans will succeed.

God wants our priorities to always be, in the beginning God! He wants to be our first desire, and to help us make plans and decisions to fulfill it.

Earlier in the chapter of today’s verse, Jesus said…
“Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be. – Matthew 6:19‭-‬21 NLT

Jesus is saying that we shouldn’t pursue bigger and better material things which are immaterial in eternity. If what we seek can be destroyed and stolen, we’re seeking the wrong things. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with wanting and acquiring nice things you can afford, but when those things restrict your ability to bless others for the Lord, they’re wrong choices.

A few verses after the ones we just read, Jesus explains why pursuing eternally right things is imperative. He pointed out…
“No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money. “That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? – Matthew 6:24‭-‬25 NLT

If you have to work more and more and harder and harder to get what you want, you may need to reevaluate what’s really important to you. The harder you have to work to pay your rent, the less time with and for the Lord can be spent.

Jesus is saying, pursue what will benefit God’s Kingdom and enable you to live right, unencumbered by the obligations that accompany worldly choices. If we seek God in the beginning we can serve Him in the end. Or said another way, if we seek God first when deciding, we’ll choose those things that keep us abiding, not separating from, in Jesus.

When God is our first thing, He will provide everything, including the wisdom to choose the right thing.

It is my belief that God blessed us to be a blessing. However, when we spend all of His blessings on ourselves and selfish desires, the blessings stop with us. But here’s what we don’t realize, He only pours into empty cups. Yes, God blesses to overflowing, but He doesn’t pour into what’s already full. God is not wasteful.

So today, as you go about making decisions, whether big or small, remember to ‘Seek Ye First’ what God wants and requires, then and only then will you experience the abundant life that desires you to have.

Today’s song is…
First Things First

Blessings 4HG (1 Corinthians 10:31)