Seek Ye First

If you’ve grown up in church or ever gone to church camp, you’ve certainly sung the song “Seek Ye First,” which is based on Matt. 6:33. The lesson that is taught from this song (Biblical text) is that if we will place God as the primary focus of our lives then “all these things will be given to you.” From this we then begin trying to figure out what the things are in life that need time and attention, such as family, friends, career, … and so the list goes. Consequently, if I can juggle the different things in my life in such a way that I am able to keep God (church) at the top of my priority list then I have been able to fulfill the requirements of the text and will reap the reward and have “all these things” given to me.

The problem with this is that people end up with a compartmentalized view of life. At any given point in time I’m devoting my attention to fulfilling the percentage of time that I must devote to item three on my list. Then I will shift to fulfill my duties for item six and on it goes.

Yet, God is not satisfied with having the largest piece of the pie dedicated to Him. He wants the entire thing. God wants to be at the very center of our relationships with family and friends and not a force that is competing with them for time and attention. It is only when God is at the center of every aspect of our lives that we will be able to experience those things at their fullest. For example, my relationship with my family will never reach its potential unless God is invited to be an integral part of it. When this happens then we will have sought Him first and all the other things will have been added, as God will have His fingerprint on each one.

Time

I’ve been thinking lately about how I use my time. Bellow are a couple of quotes that address this issue very well.

C.S. Lewis in “The Problem of Pain” pg. 70 says:

“We try, when we wake to lay the new day at God’s feet; before we have finished shaving, it becomes our day and God’s share in it is felt as a tribute which we must pay out of ‘our own’ pocket, a deduction from the time which ought, we feel, to be ‘our own’.”

Jeremy Taylor in “Holy Living” pg. 3 says:

“God has given us a short time here on earth. Yet upon this short time eternity depends. We must give account to the great Judge of men and angels for every hour of our life, after we are persons who know good from evil. And our blessed Savior told us that we must account for every idle word. This means that the time which we spend in our idle talking and unprofitable conversations, time which we might and should have used to spiritual and useful purposes, is to be accounted for.”