“Seek Ye First The Kingdom of God and His righteousness (action) all of these things will be added to you”(outcome) –Matthew 6:33

What does it really mean to put God first? We often say it, but rarely do we completely acknowledge and practice this principle. Matthew 6:33 makes it very clear how to keep God first. “Seek Ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness” There is a way that God’s kingdom operates that is not like man’s, and His righteousness ultimately means “His Way”. What we are responsible to do is to continually find out how God operates and what His way is in every area of our lives. His promise says that all of these things will be added to you. What are these things? To answer that, we will need to visit the text before that verse.

25 “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 Which of you by worrying can add one [j]cubit to his [k]stature?

28 “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; 29 and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not [l]arrayed like one of these. 30 Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

31 “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

Jesus is speaking to the day to day needs that we find ourselves in hot pursuit of. This passage is not telling you not to work, not to practice faith—it’s telling you not to worry. Worry represents a lack of Faith, and the more you pursue God and his ways, the more your faith will increase. As you pursue your purpose, it is vital to keep God first every step of the way. When you make God-conscious decisions, it refers to operating His way and the outcome will always be His will.

At times, it won’t always look like God, but you can always trust His way. God’s way is the path of righteousness and righteousness secures your future. You will not always understand, and that’s okay; the scripture reminds us to Trust the Lord with all our heart, and not lean to our own understanding. God is not limited to our understanding—his wisdom is infinite.

God and his ways don’t make sense to our humanity all of the time. Our responsibility, however, isn’t to make sense of God’s ways; it is simply to trust His ways.

I am just like you. I wake up trusting God every day to perform His will in my life. I understand that my obedience to God characterizes my success. I have yet to accomplish all of the things that God has called me to accomplish, but I’m not concerned with what is yet to be completed. Nor am I worried about what hasn’t happened.

I am assured that as long as my life is submitted to God and His ways, I know His purpose and plan for my life will come to fruition. I understand the frustration that comes with not knowing when you will get your big break, or when your will be catapulted to the next level. I’ve had to endure and master the process of patience while understanding that my story has already been written, and I am merely living it out day by day. God is and will always be in control and we have the choice to submit our lives to his plan. For we know that all things work together for the good of those that love Christ, and are called according to his purpose.


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Darrell L. Hines II