But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. - Matthew 6:33 NIV
Jesus was clear. The Kingdom of God is not something that should come second place. It should take priority in all of our lives. The Kingdom of God is often mistaken to be speaking of a future eternal dwelling place. This is not true. As we discussed in an earlier posting....the Kingdom of God is for the here and now. Jesus said that we are to "seek" the Kingdom. I tried to research a great and deep meaning of "seek" in the Greek language. All I really got was that seek means.......wait for it. Seek. :)
Why is it that we care more about the affairs of the current kingdoms of the world? It always bothers me when Christians go hyper-political. I understand that we are citizens of our respective countries. We have civic responsibilities that need to be taken into account. However, it bothers me when believers act as if there is no hope because of which party is in office!!!!! As if that really mattered!!! The Kingdom of God is at hand whether your political party wins or not. Jesus was not a Republican, Democrat, Independent, or from the Tea Party. When we make our partisan politics a priority...the Kingdom of God takes a back seat. When we spend more time campaigning for candidates than proclaiming the Gospel...the Kingdom becomes second. Jesus doesn't think that Rush is right or that Chris Matthews is playing real "Hardball". Bill O'Reilly & Keith Olberman speak of a different kingdom. Jesus doesn't side with Nancy Pelosi or Sarah Palin. Jesus doesn't tune in to Fox News, CNN, ABC, CBS, or NBC. Oh,and Jesus for sure doesn't watch Pat Robertson and the 700 club. :) Why? Because God's Kingdom is. When we make our focus on their kingdom than the Kingdom of God is last.
This "seek first" doesn't just apply to politics. It applies to every aspect of life. It is so easy to be distracted with life (Matthew 6:25-32) (food, shelter, clothes, drink) that we lose sight of Kingdom living. Jesus promise is that if we seek first the Kingdom of God....that all of "these" things will be added unto us. What do you think the "these" is referring to? Food? Clothes? Shelter? Drink? Or in context is it the whole of his message from the Sermon on the Mount? I'm sure the false "prosperity" Gospel has a heyday with a certain interpretation of this passage. But is the accumulation of material blessings all we get from God's Kingdom? I have a hard time swallowing that one.
The Kingdom of God is God's rule over all of creation. It is the ways of God lived on earth by people. When we seek first God's Kingdom...we are inviting heaven to crash into earth. When we seek first our own "kingdoms" the world continues down it's destructive path. What are you seeking?
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