Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. – Matthew 6:33
Choosing what to spend your time on is similar to entering a superstore with a small budget. So many options but few resources to purchase them. Knowing how to prioritize your time is as important as spending your money on what is most needed. A person who thrives is one who has priorities in place, concerning both time and money.
The Bible offers practical advice when considering your priorities. Today’s verse, “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness” can be applied to both spending time and money. When Jesus is number one in your life, all of the other things will find their place. You may feel you have no time to pray and read the Bible but in reality, the busier you are, the more you need to practice Christian disciplines, such as Bible reading, prayer, church attendance, fasting, and giving of your time and money.
A great promise rests in the second part of today’s verse, ”And all these things [food, drink, and clothing] will be added to you.” In other words, you can trust God to meet your needs as you put Him first. Meditate on the many verses about giving, such as Luke 6:38, “Give, and it will be given to you.”
Examine your priorities in the way you spend your time and money. Ask the Lord for wisdom to put Him first in all that you do. Pray for the nation, its citizens, and government officials to learn to put God first, by receiving Jesus as Savior and following Him as Lord.
Today’s Verse: Matthew 6:33
But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
All Scripture quotations and audio are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Recommended for further reading: Matthew 6:19-34
19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, 23 but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!
24 “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.
25 “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious 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: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? 28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
34 “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
All Scripture quotations and audio are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
