Right Idea, But Stronger Meaning

The passage for this week’s sermon was Matthew 6.33-34. Verse 33 is one of those hallmark verses for Christian thought. You might have memorized it and maybe even recite it sometimes. As a pastor and educator, I do mention the passage often, but misquote the verse often. Let me use me state it as I usually do here, and without looking it up for yourself (yet), see if you can see my error.

“Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added to you.” – Matthew 6.33

Now, let me say that the capitalization of “Kingdom” and “His” are my typing techniques related to God, so you may omit these two possibilities. Also, you may omit “to” and is “to you” instead of “unto you” because that is merely a difference in translation, but it does not impact the meaning. With those items removed, do you see my error? Perhaps, perhaps not. The error is that I left off the first word of the sentence – But.

In the original Greek, the word “de” which means “but” or “however” is actually the second word of the sentence, but that is because the Greek language places emphasis on words depending upon where they lie within the sentence (particularly a word being first or last within the sentence). In this verse, Matthew wrote the first word as “seek” (Greek, zeteite), so the emphasis of our action is to seek. However, that is not the main point. The main point is that Jesus is contrasting what He has just said with this statement. The statement could certainly stand alone, and if we quote the verse as I did above, we certainly get the right idea. However the meaning of Jesus words, with the inclusion of the “but” is much stronger because of the contrast He draws (thus, the title of this post).

Matthew 6 fits together so well. If this verse is the climax of the sermon (as I believe it is), then consider how well the rest of Matthew 6 fits. We should seek first God’s Kingdom and righteousness instead of our own righteousness, which we often do by:

• wanting others to know how much we give (verses 1-4).
• speaking eloquently or not want to speak at all – when in public (verses 5-8).
• bringing attention to our sacrifice as we fast (verses 16-18).
• chasing what the world has to offer (verses 19-23).
• serving our desires instead of God (verse 24).
• being worried about what we do and don’t have (verses 25-32).

In the midst of these items is the prayer Jesus taught His disciples as an anchor for us to remember God and His provision throughout each of these aspects of our lives. And then, in verse 31, Jesus says that we do not need to worry about our food, drink, and clothing, because our Father, the one which is in heaven (v. 9), knows what we need (v. 32; cf. verse 8).

Therefore, when we seek God and His righteousness, we are seeking the things of heaven (v. 20). Again, these truths are well understood in the context with some study and the application of logic. But, we cannot forget the “but.” That “But” at the beginning of verse 33 is a staunch reminder to the truth that we DO often seek our own pleasures, our own kingdoms, and our own righteousness instead of seeking after what God desires for us. And, of course, a mature believer realizes that s/he does this to their own detriment, but we (yes, I include myself as guilty) struggle to let go of this world, and cling to everything of God. So, Jesus used this contrasting word to emphasize His point.

The question for you and I, as always, is how will we respond? Last week, the same basic question was in play about whether or not to worry (be anxious). Again, the two are very much related. If we are seeking God (and His Kingdom and righteousness), then our concerns are much different than if we are seeking our own. And, as I have mentioned countless times in this series (if not here, then in conversations, or on the church’s blog – ffxbc.blogspot.com), it is in seeking God’s righteousness that we will be satisfied (Matt. 5.6), not in seeking our own.

So, please heed the words of Jesus to “seek first God’s Kingdom and His righteousness.” But to do so, you and I must first realize the importance of giving up more trivial concerns in order to truly focus on the concerns of God.