WHAT IS SEEKING FIRST THE KINGDOM OF GOD AND HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS?
Building spiritual capital as a Christian requires that you adopt the biblical worldview in all aspects of life enabling you to find meaning, purpose in life, and establish values that guide your decisions and actions. The scriptures become the reference point providing clarity and direction in all areas of life including finances. Over 2300 bible verses address the topic of money. If you would like to embark on a study of these scriptures, the book of proverbs and the gospels is a good place to start. Of all these scriptures, the one passage of scripture that always lingers on my mind is Mathew 6:25-34. While I did understand most of it, for a very long time I did not fully comprehend the meaning of verse 33. The passage says in NIV version:
25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? 28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
What does seeking first the kingdom mean? What is his righteousness?
I embarked on finding out the meaning of the verse and I used two approaches that have proved very helpful whenever I encounter a passage that is not easy to understand. These are:
- Comparing the verse in different translations
- Reading other scriptures using same word or language and inferring meaning
Seeking first the kingdom of God starts with seeking first God as the sovereign ruler of all creation and his purposes. This begins by getting to know Him through reading the scriptures the manual for our lives and seeking him through prayer. As you study scriptures, you gain insights, understanding and wisdom on every aspect of life and all the more on finances.
Looking over other scriptures where the word righteousness is used brought me to James 2:23, (ESV) which says, “and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, ‘Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness’—and he was called a friend of God”. Jesus further explained how you become his friend in John 15:14; ‘you are my friend if you do what I command’
Seeking first the kingdom of God and its righteousness therefore comprises of knowing God as the sovereign ruler of creation, believing Him and doing what He commands. This requires that I prioritize Him and invest time and necessary resources to get to know Him, what He likes, What He does not like, His way of thinking and doing things; just like getting to know someone and becoming friends. This takes time, in this case, a lifetime. However, the result of this is that all the other things I need ‘will be added’ to me. As my creator, He knows all my needs; as a friend, He loves me and delights in meeting my needs. He has made me an heir to His kingdom, granting me access to all that He owns. Indeed, I am convinced that I shall never lack. My prayer is that you too are convinced of this truth.
My purpose in sharing these articles is to not only share insights and principles on how to manage finances to enable you live a full and balanced life but more so to direct you to the source of all knowledge and wisdom. I could not agree more with John Eldredge’s statement from his book Walking with God;
“You might have heard the saying give someone a fish and you feed them for a day. Teach someone to fish and you feed them for the rest of their life. If you give someone a rule, a principle you help him solve one problem. But, if you teach him to walk with God then you have helped him solve the rest of his life. You have helped him tap into the inexhaustible source of guidance, comfort and protection”.
With the above understanding, I have come to appreciate and believe the following scriptures:
- 1 Peter 5:7 (NIV): Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
- Psalms 34:10 (NIV): The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.
- Hebrews 13:5 (GNT): Keep your lives free from the love of money, and be satisfied with what you have. For God has said, “I will never leave you; I will never abandon you.”
- Psalms 37:4 (NIV): Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.
- Psalms 23:1 (ESV): The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want
In the next article, I will share some practices I have embraced that have been very helpful in my journey to know God and be His friend.