The Christian's Priority

“’But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you’” (Matt. 6:33, NASB).

I arrived at the elementary school for my assignment as a substitute teacher. I told the young woman in the office who greeted me my name and the name of the teacher that I was assigned to substitute for. She told me that Mr. Adams, the principle, would be in soon to clarify my assignment. As I sat on the bench waiting I noticed a poster. It had a picture of a smiling middle aged woman. The writing at the top of the poster read “Be Smart Live Well.” The writing on one side of the picture of the woman read, “I’m making exercise and diet a priority.” It also mentioned seeing a Care Coordinator two to three times a month that helps her to control her blood pressure and reduce stress. She maintains a healthy weight through exercise and a low carbohydrate diet. I took this as a sign that I should write this article since I had not made a decision between this subject and another subject that I will likely address in the future. The poster indicates that this woman makes diet and exercise a priority for her well being. If we want to reach goals in life we will be more likely to achieve them if we have our priorities in proper order. In Matthew 6:33 Jesus tells His disciples that they are to make His kingdom and His righteousness their priority.

Jesus makes this statement to instruct His disciples on kingdom living. The first question that Christians must answer is: “What is the kingdom of heaven?” When I first considered this statement earlier in my life, I thought that it was talking about going to heaven. It was not until I looked at this statement in the context of the Sermon on the Mountain (Matt. 5-7) that I begin to understand what Jesus is saying. While attending American Baptist College I took a course in the history of Christian mission and evangelism. The instructor pointed out the kingdom of God is wherever God reigns. Since God rules in the church and in the lives of believers the kingdom of God is not a place, a geographical location, but it is an organism known as the church. The church is made up of believers who have accepted Jesus Christ as both Lord and Savior. Before making this statement, Jesus makes several statements about the kingdom of heaven. The citizens in this kingdom will receive certain benefits stated in Matthew 5:1-11. These Beatitudes also instruct us on what our attitudes should be like. Jesus tells His disciples that they have responsibilities. They are the “salt of the earth” and “the light of the world” (5:13-16). Jesus states that He comes to clarify what is written in the Law and to do what the Law could not do. He clarifies the moral and ethical principles written in the Law (5:21-48.

Jesus continues to teach His disciples how they are to relate to God (Matt. 6:1-24). In verse twenty-five Jesus assures us that the Father will meet our physical and material needs. Jesus tells them not to store up treasures on earth because these will be destroyed. Instead, they are to store up treasures in heaven where they will not be destroyed (Matt. 6:19-20). The reason for this command is, “where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” Matt. 6:21, NASB). He tells them that they are more important than the birds that God feeds and the flowers that grow. They are not to be overly concerned about these things as Gentiles do. Instead they are to seek His kingdom and His righteousness (Matt. 6:25-34). Did you get that? The Christian’s priority is not the things of the world but the things of God. Bible scholar Stuart K. Weber makes the following observation: “If our life is not to be preoccupied with fretting over basic needs, what is our concern to be? The answer is, his kingdom and his righteousness. Those two terms are almost synonymous. God’s kingdom means his sovereign rule in heaven and on earth, most particularly in and through the life of the individual believer. To seek his kingdom is to seek to ensure that his righteousness is done in heaven, on earth, and, most particularly, in and through our lives” (Matthew,” in Holman New Testament Commentary, ed. Max Anders [Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2000], 88).

So, here is my concern. There is a movement among many churches today that deemphasize teaching doctrine. Instead, these Christians believe that they are to be more concerned about taking care of the poor, the homeless, and the sick. This belief is largely based on the ministry of Jesus and His teaching in Matthew 25. Now, my first concern is that Christians will be doing a lot of good things without truly knowing the God that they worship. If this is true, what is the difference between the church and other community minded organizations that focus on the needs of people? Jesus clearly makes a distinction between those who are salt and light in the world by their making a difference in the world. At the same time we must consider what Jesus says to those who claim a relationship with Him. What is Jesus talking about in Luke 13:27? He say, ‘“I tell you, I do not know where you are from; DEPART FROM ME, ALL YOU EVILDOERS’” (NASB). Jesus tells us that we are to both enter into the kingdom of God and do the work that those in the kingdom are assigned to do. However, Jesus makes it clear that works alone are insufficient. First, we must know Him because it is only through coming to know Him that we can enter into the kingdom of heaven.

When Jesus makes this statement He has in mind how people can come to know Him and enter into the kingdom. His disciples are to pray acknowledging the Father as the ruler of the kingdom whose will must be done on earth as it is in heaven (Matt. 6:10). At the end of his book Matthew records the command of Jesus: ‘“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I command you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age (Matt. 28:19-20, NASB). This brings me to my second concern for the churches.

I have observed that many churches promote themselves by emphasizing their social ministries. This is a good thing. However, at the same time there is often the lack of emphasis on bringing people to Christ through the preaching of the Gospel and the teachings of Jesus (see John 8:31-32). In less than two months Christmas will be observed. There are many community minded organizations that will have programs to feed the hungry a Christmas dinner. There will be angel trees and families will make their wishes for Christmas known. It seems that everyone wants to bring a smile to the faces of those who cannot afford the things that they want, because it makes them feel good to see the smiles on their faces. That’s okay for community minded organizations. I am concerned that many churches do the same things and that too is a good thing. On the other hand, what are the churches doing to make salvation through Jesus Christ known to the people that they give gifts to at Christmas?

What good is it when the church seeks to meet the physical needs of people in the community when at the same time the members of the church are not being led into a deeper relationship with Christ? This leads to my second question: What does Jesus mean when He says that we are to seek His righteousness? Stuart writes “We are to seek first God’s kingdom and righteousness. Everything starts here. This is to be our consuming priority. So it is important to remind ourselves of some basic kingdom realities. How does a person find God’s righteousness that characterizes his kingdom? Jesus started his sermon by pointing out our utter spiritual bankruptcy. We have no righteousness of our own. Even our best attitudes and actions do not procure it. Righteousness comes as a merciful gift, grace through faith” (Ibid).

Finally, I am concerned that the church is too often willing to work with community minded people who do not acknowledge Jesus as Lord and savior. The danger is that in order to work with unbelievers, the church compromises its standards, modifying morals, ethics, and Godly principles that make the church truly the salt of the earth and the light of the world.

In conclusion, the Christian’s priority is to seek His kingdom and His righteousness. “The object of this seeking is ‘his kingdom and his righteousness.’ The listeners are exhorted, therefore, to acknowledge God as King in their own hearts and lives of others, and in every sphere: education, government, commerce, industry, science, etc” (William Hendriksen, “Exposition of the Gospel According to Matthew, in New testament Commentary [Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1973], 354). The church cannot seek to reach any agreement with the world in terms of the right thing to do in any given situation. The carnal mind of the unbeliever is vastly different from those who minds have been transformed by the Spirit of God. How can the two walk together if they do not agree? Instead of trying to walk with the unbelievers, we are to seek first His kingdom and His righteousness in our own lives and help others to do likewise.