Matthew 6:33: But seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
In the preceding Scriptures leading up to today’s verse, the Lord Jesus, has been exhorting us not to worry about the cares of this world. He gives examples of how the birds neither sow nor reap, yet the Father feeds them. He refers to how the lilies of the field grow and are more beautiful than all of King Solomon’s glory, yet they do nothing to attain their growth and beauty – God is taking care of them. Jesus concludes these examples with the point that if God is going to provide for these lower forms of His creation, why wouldn’t He do every bit that for the jewel of His creation – you? Jesus says, “For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.” These “things” are the basics of life – our fleshly needs.
Have you ever thought what life would be like if you didn’t have to worry about anything? Think of the amount of time you commit daily to worrying – if you’re like most of us, the time adds up probably not in the minutes but in the hours. If you didn’t have to worry about anything, what would you do with all that time? Jesus tells what we should do with that time, “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.”
Let’s begin with the first word of His command, “Seek”. This implies an action must be taken. Does this mean God hides His Kingdom from us? I don’t believe so. The proclamation to ‘seek’ recognizes two things: 1) we have free will – we have the choice to remain in our present state, or we can choose to look for something better – we need to choose to seek the Kingdom of God; and, 2) the ruler of this world, Satan, will go to great lengths to prevent us from seeking God’s Kingdom. Satan wants us to serve him, so should we desire the Kingdom of God, he is going to put up a fight to let you get to it. Therefore, we need to take action – we need to seek the Kingdom of God.
The next word, “first”, emphasizes the point that there is a competition for our attention as to what we should seek. The basis of this competition is trust – do you trust God enough to provide your basic needs so as to not let worry be your first concern? Worry is, in effect, a yielding to Satan’s unending effort to bring a mistrust of God’s provision to you. This is why Jesus began this portion of His teaching on worry by giving examples of how God provides for the birds and the lilies of the field – His point is how much more will the Father provide for us? In other words, Jesus is telling us we can trust the Father. He is Jehovah Jaira – God who provides. If we truly believe this promise, we can be at peace, not worry, and seek first the Kingdom of God.
What do we find when we seek the Kingdom of God and His righteousness? We find all the promises of God fulfilled. We find His glory, we find His peace, we find His will, we find His rest, we find His protection, and we find His love. Jesus then promises that “all these things” will be added to you. If the foundation of your life is worry, it is like sinking sand. Nothing can truly be added to your life – it will just sink with the rest of you. However, if the foundation of your life is complete trust in God’s provision for your needs, then you’re standing on solid ground. All these things of the worry of our needs are replaced by all these things of the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. Sounds like something worth seeking first, doesn’t it? Will you?