TAKE A MINUTE TO CONSIDER THIS QUESTION HONESTLY: when your mind is not zeroed in on a particular task, what are your thoughts most consumed by? A future spouse (hopefully, only if you’re single), your kids, making money, home improvement, the world’s most intractable problems, dinner/dishes/laundry, losing weight? No doubt our attention is going to be directed toward some object, idea, or goal. We are hard-wired to be pursuers, whether that be for food, for love, or for significance. Unfortunately, our pursuit of these things often causes us to experience some level of anxiety. This worry is brought on by two facts. First, we don’t usually get what we want (or when we want it or how we want it). Second, if and when we do get what we want, we find that it doesn’t ultimately bring satisfaction.
Jesus saw all this anxiety driven by these pursuits as completely unnecessary for the people of God. In his most extensive teaching to his disciples, he shared the following advice (Matthew 6:25-26):
Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?
The one who knows the Lord has no need to chase hard after the things of this life, for he has a Father in heaven who is the Provider of all things.
However, since we were created to be pursuers, Jesus declared that there is something to which we can give all of our attention; something we can put all of our energies toward and that won’t leave us wanting: “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:33). So, what is the “kingdom of God” and how do we seek after it?
Kingdoms are realms where sovereigns reign. They involve both the people and the area over which a king has authority. The kingdom of God is God’s reign in and through his people. At present, the kingdom is manifest on earth through Spirit-filled followers of Christ who are citizens of his heavenly realm, but who live on earth in exile as ambassadors of his reign and heralds of his gospel. To seek “first” his kingdom and righteousness is to answer the question, “when your mind is not zeroed in on a particular task, what are your thoughts most consumed by?” like this: “I find my thoughts sometimes drifting toward things that aren’t the most important, but what I really like to think about and what my heart is truly set on is God’s glory being lived out through my life. I want other people to know Jesus and for this world to look more like he desires.”
Thankfully, seeking God’s kingdom is a rich and integrated occupation. We do this by carrying out our daily work in a way that honors the Lord (Colossians 3:23), by teaching our children to know and obey God’s Word (Ephesians 6:4), by showing kindness to neighbors and strangers (Mark 12:31), by opening our mouths with truth that can transform (2 Corinthians 6:7), by standing as advocates for the vulnerable (Proverbs 31:8-9), by sharing what we have with others (1 Timothy 6:17-19), and by setting our gaze on Jesus (Hebrews 12:2). When we direct our energies toward these things that extend the reign of God’s grace into the lives of others, Jesus says in essence, “Take a load off,” don’t let the things that plague other people worry you, and more specifically, “all these things (food, clothing, money, meaning, love, security) will be added to you.”
So, as citizens of an unshakable, eternal kingdom let us not waste our God-given energies and Spirit-empowered giftings on temporal, earth-bound things that are less than ultimate. Let us choose to run hard after Jesus and the expansion of his love and righteousness across the globe. As Paul wrote to Timothy, “No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him” (2 Timothy 2:4).
PRAYER
Father, you are so good to me. You’ve freed me up to set all my attention upon you and your kingdom. I don’t have to be worried about all the things everyone else is consumed by. I can be joyfully preoccupied with you. Thank you for setting me free from the anxieties of this world. Help me to keep my focus on your kingdom and your righteousness. Amen.
PONDER
- In what ways has our Heavenly Father recently shown his provision in your life?
- How have you seen the “Gentiles” seek after all the things of the world and be left wanting?
- What step can you take today to be more intentional with seeking God’s kingdom and righteousness first?