First Things First

Recently, I’ve been thinking through how I can make the most of my time during summer break. Matthew 6 is a passage that comes to mind often as I make decisions about my schedule.

The whole chapter flows together in such a way that it’s difficult to address one verse without the greater context of the rest of the chapter.

A Quick Overview

In verses 1-18, Jesus instructs us not to seek God for the sake of appearances’ sake. In other words, we are to focus our worship on God, not on the people around us.

In the next section, verses 19-21, Jesus tells us to focus on heavenly treasure, not on earthly treasure that is fleeting and feeble.

Verses 22-23 are a reminder of how important our focus is, and that we really cannot focus on more than one thing at once. We need to be single-minded, to have our eyes fixed on one thing and one thing only –and that is what the next section is about.

 The First Thing

“No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body more than raiment? Behold, the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; but your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?

Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall He not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?

Therefore, take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your Father knows ye have need of these things.” (vv.24-32)

Did you catch the sequence of truths there? We cannot serve two masters, therefore we cannot pursue God and earthly goods at the same time. But, because God knows how opposite this by concept is to our thinking, He walks us through it step by step, and prepares us for the truths coming up in the next two verses by reminding us that God watches over us and provides for us just like a father, only our heavenly Father has unlimited resources, abilities, and love.

Because we can trust Him to meet our physical needs, we are to do just that: trust Him, instead of worrying about our food or clothing or money. Prepared by the reassurance of God’s promised provision, we are ready for the next truth:

“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” (v.33)

First thing first. We are to seek God, not so people will notice us seeking Him, not as an afterthought, tacked on at the end of our earthly endeavors, but first.

And since we can only serve one master at a time, seeking God first means seeking Him only.

When we do, He will provide our physical needs, just as surely as He will meet our spiritual needs.

Of course, this doesn’t mean just sitting around all day doing nothing: it looks more like sitting at His feet first thing, then getting up and doing His will the rest of the day, laying our head on our pillow at night, with a grateful heart for all He has done and provided for us.

But there’s one more facet to seeking first the kingdom of God:

“Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.” (v.34)

Essentially, this means, don’t worry.

For me, personally, this also means taking my summer break and surrendering it to the Lord, instead of making my own plans.

My natural tendency would be to plot out a schedule that used up every spare minute, only to become frustrated when God’s plan for my summer clashed with my own selfish desires for using my time.

When I set my heart on my own plans, instead of seeking God and letting Him determine my schedule, I am doing the opposite of seeking Him –I can’t seek more than one thing at once, remember?

So it’s either my schedule or God’s, and I would so much rather have an omniscient, omnipotent God oversee my schedule than my own finite, feeble self!

What does seeking God first look like for you today?