First Things First

“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” Matthew 6:33

“First” means “preceding all others of a series or kind; or before anything else.”

If you are going to do something, many projects require that you do them in order. For example, if you are going to bake a loaf of bread, you are going to need to gather together all of your ingredients and untensils. You don’t just take the flour, yeast and oil and shove them all into the oven without mixing them up. There is an order that needs to be followed, starting at the very first step.

If you are building a house, probably the most important step is the make sure that you have a firm foundation to build on. You don’t just start nailing boards together right away, without a plan. It is a process, a step by step order. You prepare the ground for your foundation, you lay your foundation, you build your floors, walls, roof frames, etc, until the home is finished. Step after step the house is finished, but it all begins with the first thing.

Which is how we need to place God in our lives: first. He needs to be before anyone or anything else. Before your brothers or sisters, your dad or your mom, aunts and uncles. He needs to be placed first in all of your actions, regardless of what anyone else wants you to do. We are commanded to love one another, but our love for God needs to be greater than even your closest family members.

What is the first commandment Jesus teaches in Matthew 22?

“Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” Matthew 22:37-40

Like a recipe, there is an order that things need to be done, and as a Christian, what is the first commandment? To love God, first, before, and above all others.

“He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.” Matthew 10:37

When we sit down to eat a meal, something that we should do is thank our God for His many blessings. Jesus, before the feeding of the thousands, lifted up the food towards the heavens, thanking the Father for the food, and blessed it. Because God created all things, we need to remember to thank Him every time we have our meals. This shows God that we remember Him, and that our belly is not our God, unlike the people who Paul referred to in Philippians.

“Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.)” Philippians 3:19

Yes, even food can be a god to some people. That is all that they are focused on, just stuffing in more food, not even thinking of where it all comes from.

And it is not just in food that people forget about God. People can skip church on the weekend, they can skip reading their Bible, or not pray to Him, sing to Him, thanking Him. Instead, other things become more important to them than the One Who created all things. This is not good; our magnificent Creator deserves our total and complete love and adoration. In everything that we do, we need to place God first.

“Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” Proverbs 3:5,6

You show what you love by the things you prioritize. The most important things are done first. Is God first in your life? Is doing His word of higher importance to you than doing what you want to do?

Moses counted the things of God greater riches than everything in Egypt. He valued God over everything else that he could have owned, giving it all up to follow God’s will for him. This kind of commitment God sees, and He will reward those who diligently seek Him.

Is God first in your life? Is your love for Him greater than anything else? Remember, to be a disciple of Christ, we need to place Him first. We need to love Him even more than your own family. Can you do that? 

In Christ,

Andrew