Seek the Kingdom First
How do we seek the kingdom first, as commanded in Matthew 6:33? Isn’t seeking the kingdom entering the kingdom? Isn’t the whole message of the kingdom of God centered around receiving a new nature, having Christ formed in you, becoming a new creature or creation and being made complete? Doesn’t it involve resting from all your works of the flesh by living to the Spirit, which is God? Doesn’t entering the kingdom require putting to death the wicked desires of the flesh by becoming involved in doing good for God on a daily basis (Luke 17:21; Gal. 4:19; 5:16; Heb. 4:10-11)?
Part of seeking the kingdom first is seeking Christ’s righteousness. It is living a righteous life for God just as Christ lived. Jesus was our example of how to do good works for the glory of the Father.
How, then, do we seek the kingdom first in our personal lives? If we are going to enter the kingdom of God we are going to have to know our Bibles and what the Will of God is. To do this we are going to have to make room for regular Bible study in our daily lives. Jesus is the bread of life and His word is our daily spiritual bread (Matt. 6:10).
In order to commit all our ways and thoughts to God, as well as receive things from God, we have to learn how to pray every day. In fact, we must learn how to be constantly in prayer, talking to God all day long, as we go about living for Him (1 Thess. 5:17).
We are going to have to get involved with a life of good works and build from there. We are commanded to love one another and love our neighbor (John 13:34-35). We need to learn how to put our nature to death by disciplining ourselves according to godliness (1 Tim. 4:7). We need to fulfill God’s Will in our daily lives. We must provoke others to love and good works, pray for others and serve others (Heb. 10:24). This is how we are examples of God’s love.
Putting God first is being willing to cancel our own plans. Putting God first is visiting someone in the hospital today, rather than golfing or shopping, like we may have previously planned. We shouldn’t plan things that we can’t change for God.
You are going to have to use wisdom, and lots of it, so ask God for it (James 1:5). He has been waiting, possibly, quite awhile for your request. Do not trust in your own abilities to do things in your own personal body strength or your own wisdom. Depend upon God for everything. Everything! Yes, everything! The true circumcision, true faith or true disciples worship in the Spirit of God for Jesus Christ’s glory and put no confidence in the flesh (Phil. 3:3).
As an example, consider your old life and how you were up to your nose, so to speak, in doing your own thing. All of a sudden, the death of a loved one interrupts your plans and you must cancel out many things you had previously planned, to take care of the funeral. First things first; you are now doing the things that you have to do, so that you can get back to the life of doing what you want to do, which is your own thing.
Now that you have repented of doing your own thing and have agreed to do God’s thing daily, which is His Will, you have just agreed to put your own will last. That’s what it means when the word of God says, let no one seek his own good first, but put his neighbor first (1 Cor. 10:24; Phil. 2:3). You are to put the other person’s good or welfare first. Even Christ, our example, did not live to please Himself but to serve others (Rom. 15:2-3). Can you imagine a society in which everyone was putting their neighbor’s welfare first? In order to do this, you would have to be giving and loving and patient and considerate, for love does no wrong to a neighbor (Rom. 13:10).
If we want to seek the kingdom first, then we must learn to put God first, Bible study first, serving first, giving first, and our own personal interest last (Phil. 2:3-5). If the greatest in the kingdom is going to be the servant of the most, then we must desire to be the servant of the most so that we can receive the character of that kind of person (Matt. 23:11). That is what serving God with all your heart and all your soul and all your strength and all your might is all about, isn’t it (Deut. 6:5)?