Matthew records Jesus saying, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matthew 6:33).
I was reflecting on these words, not only how to apply this to my own life, but also how this is applied by others and how this impacts my relationships with them.
I’ve come to realize that some people do not adhere to this instruction at all, and as a result live their lives in a complete selfish pursuit of their own well-being. This is equally true of people “in” and “out” of the Church. There are many workers in Church fraternities that only pursue things that will benefit themselves, even at times at the expense of the people in the Church!
Then there are some people that get the “kingdom” part all waxed but fail miserably in the “righteousness” department. You see, the instruction by Jesus has two parts: the kingdom of God, and the righteousness of God. If I understand it correctly the kingdom refers to the way God does things, while the righteousness of God refers directly to His character and nature.
We are called, as His creation, to be just like Him in all things, which means that we must adapt our behavior to mirror that of His! The way we treat people, the way we speak to people, the way that we act towards other people, in short, our entire sphere of inter-personal relationships should be equal to that of God to us. The love, grace and mercy He extends to us, should also be extended by us to others.
There are some people in the Church who claim to do things for the sake of the kingdom (and much of it may be true and well), but in the process they either use or discard people ostensibly for the sake of the Kingdom. If this is the case, I propose that they are not really seeking the kingdom of God at all. I believe that the kingdom and God’s righteousness are not mutually exclusive, but work in a symbiotic fashion.
Let us take heed to the “how” of applying kingdom principles in our lives and let us not forget that we are not isolated on our own religious island, but that we are a community of believers worshipping the One God.
Let us extend love and see the kingdom prosper, and then all the other little things in life will be taken care of automatically.
tintravels 