Seek ye first the Kingdom of God

https://odb.org/2023/10/19/first-on-the-list

In Matthew 6:33, Jesus tells us to seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you. If you read the preceeding verses, Jesus’s argument is that if God takes care of the birds and the flowers and the grass, will He not take care of us, His children whom He loves. So don’t go chasing after all these earthly riches like the non-believers do, but instead put God first, and He will make sure we will have the things we need to survive this life. He knows what we need.

In my view, what Jesus meant is not for us to not work and let God bring manna down from heaven to feed us. Life challenges are real. We need to work hard at our jobs and be the best that we can be at what we do. Put in the hours, learn the business, or trade and acquire the skill to do well. Do not be calculative over work. The more we do, the more we will benefit. Practice makes perfect. Exposure gives us experience and discernment and wisdom.

But in all that we do, put God first. Have integrity and do what is right. Focus on God and His righteousness even as we go through our list of tasks. Ask Him for His strength. A couple of days ago, someone consulted me about what to do. He was organising a trip and has collected all the money already. It is a few weeks away. Just to take his chance, he asked the AirBnB owner for a discount, and totally unexpectedly, the owner agreed. So he asked me, “Should he pass on the discount to his friends?” If it’s all confirmed and he actually receives a refund from the owner for the discount, that should be the right thing to do. Later, he texted me that he passed on the discount to everyone.

The above was not a work example but a real-life example that I experienced recently. But it’s illustrative of what we should do at work. For example, if we come across some information that could help our colleagues in their work, should we tell or keep it to ourselves? Maybe we do not want to tell so that our colleagues do not outshine us?

Put God and His righteousness first, and all these things shall be given unto us. The principle is real, and as we practice it, we will see it come to pass. Amen!