Matthew 6:25-33
When my wife, Courtney, and I moved into our first house, we decided to purchase new dressers for our bedroom. As a hospital chaplain, Courtney frequently worked on-call shifts. During one of these shifts, I decided to surprise her by putting the dressers together while she was away.
I pulled out all of the parts from the box, started piecing them together, and slowly began making progress. Everything seemed to be going perfectly… until the end. I didn’t read the directions, and when the dressers were nearly complete I realized that I had skipped a crucial step. I retraced my steps back to the beginning, and the second time around, read the directions carefully. I made sure to put first things first.
When I read Jesus’ words in our text, this experience comes to mind. Jesus seems awfully concerned about our putting our priorities in order. When they become misaligned, we get lost. Jesus instructs his disciples to strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well (v. 33).
We often worry and stress over things that are trivial in nature. While some concerns obviously warrant our attention and energy, most of us likely agree that a majority of our worries stem from misaligned priorities. Jesus invites us to keep first things first. And when we strive first for the kingdom of God, our priorities find their order and our worries subside.
Consider
What worries or concerns are you carrying right now? How might you offer them to God today?
Pray
Loving God, help us put first things first this day and always by following you. Amen.