But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
—Matthew 6:33
God’s priority for you is the same priority He’s given me and every other Christian. Our Lord makes it unmistakably clear in the key verse of the Sermon on the Mount: “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” Single-minded, unmistakable, with a promise attached.
Dr. Armand Nicholi, a psychiatrist on the faculty of Harvard University, made a profound statement I’ve never forgotten: “When first things are put first, second things increase.” Don’t miss the lesson in that, because a child can grasp it and all of us need to apply it. Put the first things first, and the second things actually grow. But put second things first, and they only shrink the first things down to nothing.
Jesus’ cousin, John the Baptist, understood this exactly. Speaking of Jesus, he said, “He must increase, but I must decrease.” There’s the order of the kingdom in a single sentence. The way up is down. The way to a life that increases is to let Jesus increase and self decrease.
So, what does it actually mean to put first things first? What is this new life, this Jesus life, where the King and His kingdom come first? Simply put, the kingdom of God is the rule of Jesus Christ in our lives. It is the sovereignty and supremacy of our Savior over every part of who we are.
My friend and fellow Dallas-area pastor Tony Evans explains it wonderfully. “The kingdom,” Tony says, “is the visible manifestation and application of the comprehensive rule of God in, over, and through every area of life.” Every area. Not the Sunday corner of your life roped off from the rest, but all of it, under His rule.
The problem is that too many of us want to build our own kingdoms. We want to make our own plans, dream our own dreams, and fulfill our own destinies. But God made us not for ourselves but for Him and His glory. Life is not about you or me. Life is about Him.
And here’s where we so often go wrong: we start in the wrong place. Whenever we set out to get our lives in order, we define our goals and dreams and build a schedule to achieve them, and only then do we try to fit God in somewhere. But Jesus is where we need to start. He is the beginning. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made. Our starting point should be seeking the King and His kingdom first, before we map out anything else.
Where are you starting from today? If you’ll begin with the King, you’ll find your priorities fall into an order you could never force on your own, and the life of purpose you’ve been chasing starts to take shape.
WHEN FIRST THINGS ARE PUT FIRST, SECOND THINGS INCREASE. START WITH THE KING, NOT WITH YOUR OWN PLANS.
