Seek First the Kingdom

If I had the opportunity to speak to my younger self, here’s what I would say: Put God first in your life. Of course, this starts with asking Christ to come into your life. Then it means following Him. Jesus summed it up this way: “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you” (Matthew 6:33 NKJV).

Now, what did Jesus mean by “all these things”? We find the answer in the earlier verses, where He said, “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs” (verses 31–32 NLT).

We’re obsessed with what we’ll eat, drink, and wear. These are not necessarily bad things to think about, but Jesus is saying that we shouldn’t make them the focus of our lives. Instead, we should put God first. We should seek first the kingdom of God: the rule and reign of Christ in our lives.

One day, we will go to Heaven and enter the kingdom of God, and the kingdom of God will come to Earth. But when the Bible tells us to seek the kingdom of God first, that means simply putting Jesus first in our lives.

Think about God’s will when you make decisions. Don’t put money first, career first, politics first, or even ministry first. Put God first in your life, and the rest will be blessed. This doesn’t mean that God will make you incredibly wealthy. What it means is that God will “supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19 NKJV). So put Him first.