Most of us are familiar with the Lord’s commandment of Matthew 6:33. “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” In what has become known as the Sermon on the Mount, the teachings of Jesus the Christ are such that we will be challenged by them all of our lives! How do we obey the command of Matthew 6:33?
First, to put and keep God first we must come to recognize that God does not and will not ever take second place to anybody or anything! He stated that candidly to the children of Israel in Exodus 20:1-3. “And God spoke all these words, saying: I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me.”
What are some of our modern day gods or idols? The list is practically endless because it could and most times does vary from person to person. For the purpose of this writing, only a few can be mentioned. Some people have family members as their gods. Some have members of the church as their gods. Some have friends and coworkers as their gods. Still others have their money, pleasure, entertainment, jobs, sports, careers, school/college, homes, cars, lands, clothes and on and on we go with the gods and idols of this world! God still says none of those relationships or material possessions can come before Him and our seeking His will for our lives.
Second, to put and keep God first we must be avid students of the Bible. Jesus said in Matthew 5:6, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.” God’s Word is our daily food – not a supplement every once in a while! We must strive for the spiritual excellence of Job when he said, “I have not departed from the commandment of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food” (Job 23:12).
Third, to put and keep God first we must pray without ceasing. How can we do that? We need to have our minds transformed and set on things above. We are to let the Word of Christ dwell in us richly (Colossians 3:16)! This is a guarantee that our minds will be fertile ground, nourished in the words of faith as we pray daily. Colossians 4:2 says, “Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving.” First Thessalonians 5:16-18 reads, “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”
Fourth, to put and keep God first we must capture and subdue the last frontier – our thoughts! Paul in writing to the church at Corinth told them they had to cast down arguments “and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5). What different turns our lives may have taken in certain situations if only we had seriously thought before we had said or done anything!
These points are but a smidgen of the many that could be explored. Jesus Christ is our supreme example of setting priority in our pursuit of a relationship with God. Perhaps He said it best and most precisely in John 8:29, “And He who sent Me is with Me. The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please Him.” Now that’s putting and keeping God first!
