First Things First

“But seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”  Matthew 6:33

These words were from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount wherein He spoke to the people and told them how God expected them to live.  He knew that one of the worries that many people were having concerned their daily needs, particularly those of food and clothing, which is still a concern for a lot of folks, along with rent, mortgage payments, and other necessities of life.  However, people are not only concerned with their needs, but their wants.  They want what they want, and then many times they are still not satisfied when they get it.  Others who have plenty usually still want more than is sufficient for a comfortable life.  As the extremely wealthy man said when asked, “How much is enough?”, he replied, “Just a little bit more.”

People across the globe live their lives at different economic levels.  There are the rich, the middle class, and the poor.  By the standards of the third world countries, almost everyone in the U.S. would be considered rich or at least well off.  Many of the lower income folks among us have cell phones, cars, and big screen TVs.  There are all sorts of government programs to help those in need, and many of the churches have ministries to those who have found themselves on the lower end of the economic spectrum.  The gaining of wealth is a major focus among us, but it seems that few people know what real riches are.

Jesus said that if we will seek Him and His righteousness, that is, focus on Him in how we worship and serve Him and live righteously before Him, then all of our needs will be met.  The world has a hard time believing this, judged by their actions.  Instead of honoring Him, they want to blame Him for their lack.  Jesus was not preaching a “prosperity gospel” by which some preachers have deceived many to believe that if they are righteous, then they will be blessed materially.  God will supply our needs when we depend on Him, but it is not His desire to make us materially wealthy, but to make us spiritually holy.  He can bless us materially if He desires, but He does so for us to be able to help others.  An older gentleman at my former church used to say that God could make 90 per cent of our money go further than we can make 100 per cent go by ourselves.

In Genesis 45:16-24 we find that even Pharaoh, an idolater, invited Joseph’s family to come live in Egypt to escape famine.  He told them to not worry about their stuff because everything they needed would be provided.  If the unbelieving king of Egypt could be so generous, just imagine how well that the Lord can take care of us if we place our trust in Him.