Matthew 6:33 - FIRST

FIRST

“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

Matthew 6:33

This is a mini-series of devotionals focused on Matthew 6:33. They will build on each other each week. We will seek to break down the verse word by word, phrase by phrase to hopefully get a better understanding on what God wants to show us and teach us.
The previous devotional focused on the word “seek”. We discussed what that meant and finished by asking the question: “What do you seek?” Today’s question will expand on that by asking: “What do you seek first?” This is the probably the main question Matthew 6:33 is asking. It’s not whether seeking or not seeking is right or wrong, but rather what are you seeking first? What we seek first shows us what is most important on our priority list.
So let’s start with sports. What do you seek first in sports? First is an extremely important word that has a lot of meaning in the world of sports. What you seek first determines what your end goal is in sports. For many athletes winning is what they seek first. Being number one and winning is all that matters. Vince Lombardi once said that: “Winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing.”

The first thing other athletes might seek is to have fun, improve or to be with friends. What do you seek first in sports? The same question applies to life. Because what you seek first in sports and life tend to show what the most important thing to you is.

So what is it in life? Is it surviving, money, relationships, being a good person, being the best or helping others? What does God call us to seek first? In Matthew 6:33 Jesus calls us to seek God’s kingdom and His righteousness first. In the context of this passage, Jesus was telling the hearers not to worry about what they will eat, drink or wear because their Heavenly Father already knows that they need those things. He was telling them not to seek those things first BUT to seek His kingdom and righteousness first. Do we play sports and live life like this?

What do you seek first in sports? Why? What do you seek first in life? Why?