I’ve been looking at Matthew 6:33 this morning.
“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”
How are you supposed to keep seeking God first when your own needs in life keep changing? I keep seeing people who couldn’t care less about God’s kingdom and seem to be doing just fine. Bills paid, fridge full, life rolling along. So I don’t think Jesus is talking about simple material cause-and-effect here.
What does Matthew 6:33 mean?
Matthew 6:33 is about seeking God’s kingdom (his rule) and his righteousness ahead of getting life sorted out… People with paid bills never shook the verse, since Jesus is talking about what you want most.
‘First’ means letting God’s rule and righteousness shape how you handle whatever need comes up.
Prosperity is a bad scoreboard for faithfulness and just remember that a full fridge doesn’t say anything about what’s running someone’s life. If you really want to get into that topic I would look at this thread.
Put God’s way of living ahead of your worries, and the Father who knows what you need will make sure you’re taken care of… The ‘all these things’ are food and clothes, the same stuff Jesus spent 10 verses telling his followers to quit worrying about.
Jesus never said people who ignore God would go hungry, plenty of them have full fridges. Keep turning back toward the kingdom every time a new worry shows up.
Amen, even after my bills were finally paid I still caught myself chasing comfort first, so it’s about what we want most.
Our pantry was nearly bare the year I leaned on God hardest, so a full fridge is a lousy scoreboard.
The full fridges part hit me, because my worry was never really about food so much as feeling like I had to earn God’s care.
Turning back every time a new worry shows up made sense to me, seeking first is something you do over and over. Used to read “first” as a ranking to lock in once and feel guilty about whenever the grocery budget crowded it out…
So how do you do that in the moment?
Name the worry when the grocery budget starts shouting: I’m afraid there won’t be enough! Then ask God what trusting him looks like in the next step… maybe making a realistic plan, or asking for help rather than taking the fear out on someone at home.
Trusting God is the heart of it, Jesus drank water and wore sandals after all. Not letting worry over material security run your whole life!
Not everything you might want, but what you need. ‘All these things’ refers to verses 25-34, where Jesus mentions food, drink, clothing and basic necessities. The pagans obsess over wealth and luxury. We should focus on seeking God’s kingdom and his righteousness, and trust him to provide what we need.
A bird that forages all day versus a bird lying awake catastrophizing about next week’s worm supply! Birds work, but they don’t treat their own effort as the thing holding the universe together.
The Greek word Jesus uses is about anxious preoccupation.
Good pleasure! ‘It’s your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom’ (Luke 12:32), and the next line is ‘sell your possessions and give to the needy.’ The seeking shows up in what I do with my stuff.
My truck needed new tires right before a big payment was due and I skipped the overtime to help with the food drive at church… the bills feel loud. Doing the next right thing God puts in front of you!
That wealthy guy wouldn’t even give the sick homeless man the scraps he tossed to his dogs… until he died. The parable of Lazarus and the rich man says everything!
I’ve lived the ‘thriving’ life before. That scene in The Matrix where Cypher’s eating the steak, there’s always a price. The self-help industry runs on full fridges and empty souls.
Jesus was giving specific instructions to the Apostles about not letting everyday worries pull them away from their ministry work. That doesn’t apply to every believer in the same way.
The NLT: “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously and he will give you everything you need.” Filling your thoughts with his desires and using his character as your life’s pattern… more than a one-time priority check!
There’s an old saying, “The sheep that fears the wolf forgets the shepherd’s staff.” Luke 12:32 reminds me it’s the Father’s good pleasure to give us the kingdom.
Slowly Matthew 6:33 stops being a transaction, at least for me and it becomes an invitation to trust.
When needs keep changing, read the next verse: “Therefore don’t be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Enough for the day is its own trouble” (Matthew 6:34). It’s the same rhythm as ‘Give us this day our daily bread.’ You seek him for today’s need… Today’s. And tomorrow you do it again.
Plural in the Greek! ‘All these things will be added to you’ and the provision shows up through other believers sharing what they have… I might be the ‘added’ for somebody else this week.
