First Things First

“Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness; and all these things will be given to you as well.”

Matthew 6:33

In the ancient Arabian folktale, Aladdin is the lazy son of a poor tailor. After his father’s death, he meets a magician who says that he is Aladdin’s uncle. The magician convinces Aladdin to go after a beautiful lamp that is hidden in a cave. When Aladdin gets the lamp he refuses to give it to the magician. The magician becomes furious and seals the cave, leaving Aladdin to die. In despair Aladdin cries and wrings his hands, bringing forth a genie from a ring the magician had given him. The genie frees Aladdin from the cave and soon discovers that the lamp also produces a magic genie when it is rubbed. The genies grant Aladdin his every wish, and he eventually becomes immensely wealthy and marries the daughter of the sultan.  Aladdin is able to overcome every foe with the power of the lamp.  Aladdin goes on to live a long, happy life and succeeds the sultan to the throne.  The story of Aladdin is so entertaining that Walt Disney grabbed the story and made it into a movie that is a favorite of many.  

What would happen if God told you, “I want to give you three wishes, whatever you ask I will do.”  If you could have anything you wished for, what would you desire from God?   Would our wishes reflect what God desires for our lives?
 

I think I can say with confidence that what the average American would desire would be to have more money, a happy marriage, compliant and well-behaved children, good health, the absence of pain, a long life, and endless happiness.  Probably most church folks would ask for the same things.  Therefore, we need to examine ourselves and put “first things first” and seek to determine what would be on God’s list for our lives.

For us to pursue God we must keep first things first. Jesus said, “Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all of these things will be given to you as well.” We seek things, not God. We seek our comfort, not God. Things can never give us direction in life. Things can never comfort us in a lasting way. Things can never instill within us the wisdom we need to understand our predicaments and possibilities. Things are just things, but God is God.   If you and I truly want to find our way beyond our own wishes and wants, our own desires for the toys and trinkets that this world has to offer, then we must seek God first and continuously.

We are to put first things first in the home.  The home was established to be a haven of love, to be the cornerstone of society, and to provide the environment in which children are to be born, raised and trained for an eternal inheritance with God.  Someone defined “home” as the place where each one lives for the other and all live for God.  Putting God first in the home is molding lives into the image of God and His will

Also, we are to put first things first in our lives.  As we spend time in the study of God’s Word, time in prayer and worship, we allow the Lord to teach us about His character, His love, His justice, His mercy, His grace, His mighty power, His majesty, and His sovereignty over all things. This is what we truly need in life. Nothing apart from seeking the Lord with all of our hearts will give us the security, rest, and joy that every person longs for in life. His presence changes our priorities in life.  The things that use to matter most, lose their power over us. The plans that we have pursued with fervency and passion lose their grip on us so that we might pursue the plans that God has for us. The troubles that use to unravel our souls are put into His divine perspective and we learn that nothing happens apart from His knowledge.

If you could have anything you wished for, what would you desire from God?  I pray that it would be the faith to put God first and trust your life now and eternity to the God who gives all things – first of all His Son – and then all for body and soul.  That’s the Kingdom we have now and for eternity.  It’s a Kingdom and Righteousness worth seeking first.