The Christian culture is full of language that speaks our heart and call. Some have the power to alter your life for the better while some remain weird "Christianese" that really doesn't make much sense on an applicable level. One such idea is the thought of seeking God first. We all know we have to seek God first, but what does that really mean?
The well-known instruction comes from Matthew 6:33 which tells us, "But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." The New Living Translation says that last part this way: "and he will give you everything you need." That sounds like a great catch. Who wouldn't want everything they need given to them? But much more important than that is what comes before the promise - the instruction which is to seek God's kingdom and righteousness.
Usually when we "seek" something, we stop the seeking when we find it, but with God the seeking never ends. We don't seek God's kingdom once in our life. It's something that we progressively do every single moment of our life. It's asking ourselves in every situation, "would this bring me closer or farther away from God?"
First means first
To seek God first means to seek Him foremost. Many people are searching for so many things in their life not realizing that if they look for Christ, He will provide the answer to everything we need - purpose, satisfaction, fulfillment, joy, peace, money and strength is all found in Him. However, we don't always see things that way. There are times of fear, anxiety or doubt when we will seek other things - the favor of man, our own strength, our own plans or our own desires.
Until we make it a point to always look to Jesus as our source of everything and not just treat Him as an afterthought, we miss the point. James 1:17 reminds us, "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change."
First means most
Not only must God be foremost, but He must be preeminent meaning supreme in priority and without equal. And again, in our fallen state we don't always think of Jesus this way by default. Left to our own we might look to her priorities before God. The Bible refers to these things as idols, and they are to have no place in our hearts.
There is no one like Jesus. Only in Him do we find every need met whether it be day-to-day needs or eternal needs. And the great thing is we don't have to earn His favor. He gives it to us freely if only we seek after it. That's all that needs to be done. When we seek God first and foremost making Him supreme priority above all, then "He will give you everything you need."
