SEEK YE FIRST THE KINGDOM OF GOD

Matthew 6:31-34 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat, or what shall we drink, or wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

The lesson text is the concluding summary of the preceding verses 25 through 30. Also, as we study this text, it is good to consider that the revision of the King James Version of the bible begins the lesson text thus: Be not therefore anxious, instead of Therefore take no thought. Jesus is telling us, not to quit thinking about the things that sustain life on earth, but not to be overly concerned with them. Certainly we are to give prudent thought to everything we say or do, but we are not to let them distract us from things spiritual. The same revised translation, anxious instead of thought, is also used in the preceding verses 25, 27, 28, and the last verse of the lesson text. In this entire passage, verses 25 through 34, Jesus spells out in words and symbolism that cannot be misunderstood, the fact that we must place our trust in our Creator, the God of heaven and earth, rather that in mammon (or earthly treasures).

Although we have a godly obligation to provide, if physically possible, for ourselves, as well as our families, yet Jesus warns us in this lesson that we are not to be anxious for the physical necessities of life. We are not to let the anxiety of doubts and fears dominate our lives; we are not to let our daily needs - the provision for food, drink, shelter, and clothing - consume us. Satan wants us to worry and fret over the things that we need, and ultimately to be consumed and obsessed with a greedy desire to gain them. Satan wants us to give our entire time and effort to obtaining things of the world that willsatisify our physical needs. He wants mammon to be our master.

Jesus warns us that to be consumed with worldly anxiety is spiritually fatal. He warns us that we are not to worry about what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. In this rhetorical statement, Jesustells us that life is more than meat, and the body than raiment (Vs. 25). This exemplifiesby His prior teaching that no man can serve two masters. You can serve God or you can serve mammon, but you cannot serve both at the same time. Either we are dedicated entirely to obtaining the provisions to sustain our physical lives on earth, or we are devoted to obtaining the treasures of heaven that sustain our soul for eternity. The exception to this law is that our service to God also requires us to providefor the needs of our families as well as our neighbor when necessary, but not to the exclusion of our devotion to God.

What a great example Jesus uses to make this lesson understood by all. He tells us to, Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them (Vs. 26). The beautiful music coming from birds of the air each morning assures us that they are not anxious about their provisions of the day. Birds do not gather and store food for the days and months to come. They don't even have barns in which to store food. They rely on God to feed them every day, and, without fail, He does. Knowing this about the birds of the air, Jesus then asks this question: Are ye not much better than they (Vs. 26)? Without a doubt, all in the presence of Jesus then, and all that read His words today, can say with assurance that God will provide all things necessary to sustain mankind.

There is much good work that we can do; there are many things that we can change for the better. These things are to occupy our minds rather than the things over which we have no power to control. This is the lesson Jesus teaches us by asking this rhetorical question, Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature (Vs. 27)? Certainly the answer is that we can't grow taller by worrying about our height, so why fret about something that is so futile?

And why take ye thought for raiment? As an example of why we should not be anxious for clothing to cover our bodies, Jesus says consider the lilies of the field. They neither labor for, nor make clothing. Their outward appearance was made by God, and compared to Solomon in all his glory, he was not clothed more beautifully than a lily (See Vss. 28-29). The birds of the air and the flowers of the field all flourish under God's care. Why, then, does mankind - His creation made in His image, anguish, agonize, and struggle anxiously, over the necessities of life. Do we think our Creator will provide for His birds and flowers, and not provide nourishment and clothing for His children? Why? Jesus gives us the answer in the last few words of verse 30 by referring to mankind as ye of little faith. The faith of the fowls of the air, and the lilies of the fields, put to shame the faith earthly human beings place intheir Creator.

Just as Jesus began this teaching in verse 25, so He begins the lesson text: therefore take no thought (be not anxious) for the provisions of life. Heathen people have reason to be anxious over such things, because they know not God as the provider of all blessings that sustain life on earth. But His children have no reason to fear, because our heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. Paul adds to this thought by saying that the same God that gave His Son as atonement for our sins shall also freely give us all things (See Rom. 8:31-32).

Jesus, now sums this lesson up in one simple, but demanding condition that, if complied with, will allow us to conduct ourselves on earth without anxiousness over the provisions of life. Jesus says, But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. The condition is that one must seek first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness.We must seekthings spiritual, and then we are able to place our total trust in Him to provide all other things that sustain our physical life here on earth. It is this obedient trust in God that dispels the anxieties of life.

In His "Sermon on the Mount" Jesus addresses all of the aspirations of mankind. However numerous they may be, Jesus says that they fall into two categories - spiritual or physical. We either serve God or Satan, represented as mammon. By seeking the treasures of earth first in our lives, we will lose eternal life, but if we seek the treasures of heaven, that is, if we seek first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness, we gain both life on earth as well as eternal life in heaven.

Take therefore no thought for the morrow (the revision reads - Be not therefore anxious for the morrow): for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. We borrow trouble from the future that can never be repaid when we burden ourselves with the anxieties of life. Each day has sufficient cares for us to concern ourselves about. Tomorrow will have its own unique problems. However, whatever these cares may be, we are not to be consumed by them. First, give yourself to God, become and remain His child, and diligently strive to obey His will. Then, and only then, will the anxieties of life be lifted from each of us and be bourn by our heavenly Father. Thank you, Jesus, for this lesson of life!