Seek Ye First (end)
“For your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.” God knows your needs. Don’t be a slave of those things. Let them be your slave. Let them work for you; don’t work for them.
It’s not that there’s anything wrong with money, riches, or wealth—there’s nothing wrong with having money, riches or wealth. It all depends on whether you own money or the money owns you. It’s your attitude toward it. It all depends on how the money is used, whether the money or the wealth is using you or you’re using the wealth.
“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you!”7 Put God’s kingdom first.
What is God’s kingdom? Jesus said it’s within you. What’s it composed of? What does He reign or rule over? He rules and reigns over the church. And what is the church? It is souls, people, His people! The kingdom of God is not a building or a denomination or an organization. It’s not this earthly ball. It’s the people who live on it who love Him.
Now if people are God’s kingdom, and if you’re going to seek first God’s kingdom, what are you going to seek? You’re going to do that which helps the kingdom of God.To help His kingdom is to help people. In helping people, you’re helping God, because He wants to help people. And the way He helps people is through you and me. That’s seeking first the kingdom of God, by loving God first of all, and then loving your neighbor as yourself.
It says, “Seek first the kingdom of God.” There’s a greater and more important meaning of the word “first”—meaning foremost and above all, before everything else, above everything else, beyond everything else, and more than anything else. That means you’re seeking God’s kingdom more than anything else on this earth. First and above all!
It means working for God and others more than for yourself, more than for money, more than for riches, more than for pleasure, more than for health, more than for anything else. That’s seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.
If you put Him and others first, He says, “All these things shall be added unto you.” If you put God first, won’t He give you all these other things if you need them? He might not give you everything you want. He might not give you everything you’d like to have, or sometimes not even the things you think you need to have, but He will give you what He knows you actually have to have for the sake of His kingdom.
Bible economics is utterly contrary to the economics of man. Man’s economics says: “Self-preservation is the first law of nature. I’m going to preserve myself and my own first.” The first law of man’s fallen human nature is: “I’m going to live for myself. First, I’m going to take care of myself. First, I’m going to get mine. Self-preservation.”
What is God’s law of economics? “Give and you shall receive”. The secret to God’s economy is: “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.”
1 Matthew 4:8–10.
2 Matthew 6:25.
3 Matthew 6:26.
4 Matthew 6:27–29.
5 Matthew 6:30.
6 Matthew 6:31–32.
7 Matthew 6:33.
8 Mark 8:34–35.