90: Seek First the Kingdom of God

When it comes to getting things done, I am a list-maker. Grocery lists, packing lists, to-do lists, you name it. There is just something so satisfying about writing down a task or item or need and then being able to cross it off the list. If said lists are only in my head, I tend to feel pretty overwhelmed. But if I write all the things down, well, I’m not saying it completely alleviates the overwhelm, but it does help.

I think part of why I find list-making is so helpful is that makes it easier for me to prioritize. When I see it in writing, I can more easily determine what is most pressing, and then decide how I might best spend my focus and my energy. Without a list keeping me on track, I tend to drift into multi-tasking mode. I divide my attention into bite-size pieces, thinking I can focus on all the things all at once. But as I’ve shared before here on the podcast, and as one of my professors, Keas Keasler, once wrote,

“…there’s a dark side to multitasking that must be considered: it chips away at our being ‘whole’ persons. Doing something over here while your mind is thinking about something else over there doesn’t mean you’re in both places; it means you’re in neither place. Even if multitasking does make us more efficient, it comes at the high cost of making us fragmented persons.”

What this quote highlights is the truth that, our days—our lives—are chock full of things competing for our time and attention, and when we try to do it all, it can become difficult for us to remember what’s most important.

Now, this can be true on an outward level - the actions we take, the commitments we make, and the needs we seek to fill. But I also wonder if there might be a deeper truth… that perhaps our actions on the outside could be a result of what we value on the inside. Maybe, what we outwardly choose to pay attention to, channel our energy toward, and prioritize, deep down, is actually what we love. And so if our outward attention is divided, maybe that means our souls are too.

That being said, there’s an interesting thread in much of Jesus’ teaching throughout the gospels that warns against this sort of inner division and fragmentation. I think Jesus knew the toll it takes. One example of this teaching thread is found in the Sermon on the Mount, particularly in Matthew 6.

In verses 22-24 of this chapter, we read:

22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. So if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, 23 but if your eye is unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If, then, the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!

24 No one can serve two masters, for a slave will either hate the one and love the other or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.”

So, let’s pause for a minute. It’s time for a bit of scripture study here in the middle of this remind{h}er. Stick with me! Ironically, this might feel a bit fragmented at first, but I promise it’ll all come together in a minute. Let’s go verse-by-verse.

First, there is something interesting to note about the original greek word used in verse 22 that has been translated into the English word, “healthy.” The original word Jesus used to describe an eye as “healthy” is the greek word, “haplous.” Haplous literally means single, unfolded, or undivided. Its antonym is the greek word, “diplous” which means “double." So what Jesus could be saying here is, an eye that is healthy and whole is an eye that isn’t seeing double. An eye with a single focus. And as they say, eyes are the windows to our souls. This matters as we continue reading.

Second, in verse 23, the original word used to describe an eye as “unhealthy” is the greek word, (pawn-air-ose)“poneros” which means “miserable, evil, and pain-ridden.” And don’t we know it? The misery that we experience when our focus, our love, and our souls are divided?

Third, in verse 24, Jesus goes on to say that we cannot serve two masters. We cannot serve God and wealth. We cannot serve God and anything else.

And then, finally, there’s verses 25-34. I didn’t read them, but they compose the familiar passage about not worrying. You probably know the one: “Do not worry about your life…look at the birds…consider the lilies…do not worry about tomorrow…” If you aren’t familiar with this passage, no worries (see what I did there?), but I do invite you to press pause and give it a read. It’s a good one.

Anyway, believe it or not, in these verses, the greek word used for “worry” is (mer-eem-now)“merimnao” which literally means, “to be divided.” So when Jesus says, “Do not worry,” he is saying, “Do not be divided.”

Are you still with me? Are you noticing what I’m noticing? I think it’s safe to say that Jesus was trying to make a point here: a soul is healthy and whole when it is undivided. When it isn’t forced to be split in two. Or three. Or four, five, six, seven, and so on. It’s a soul that isn’t distracted; a soul that knows its focus and priority.

As followers of Jesus, then, it seems important to consider what Jesus prioritized. After all, wouldn’t we want to seek what Jesus most sought? So if Jesus had a to-do list of sorts, I wonder what would top the list?

Some might say love. Some might say salvation. Others might say justice or sacrifice or forgiveness. Some might say to make a way for eternal life. Others still might say Jesus’ main task was to show us what God is like or to provide an example of how we should live our lives.

I don’t know that any of those are wrong. But I do wonder if, maybe, on their own they are incomplete. Perhaps there is a larger umbrella that those answers can all fit under. And I’d like to offer that maybe, that larger priority—the thing that topped Jesus’ list—was the kingdom of God.

In all his teaching in Matthew 6 about having an undivided soul, Jesus adds this. Matthew 6:33 reads:

“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

All throughout that chapter, in one way or another, Jesus has been warning against living a divided life. And then he tells us what our single-focus, our top priority, should be: the kingdom of God.

All throughout Jesus’ ministry and teaching, he talks about or alludes to the kingdom of God. 114 times, in fact. Even after his resurrection, and right before his ascension, he is still all about the kingdom of God.

We see this in his teaching, his interactions, his way of life. In other words, Jesus was all about making the world right and just and whole and healed. His life and work and death and resurrection were all a part of redeeming and reorienting us back to what is good and right and true. In doing so, he was introducing the world as God intended it to be and inviting us to participate in that important work and mission. He was transforming lives and hearts so that, together, we could help transform the world, too.

And so, if the kingdom of God was Jesus’ main focus, then as his followers, perhaps it should be our main focus, too.

I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but the world we are living in is not what the kingdom of God is like. Fear, violence, selfishness, hatred, pride, power, abuse, control, cynicism, shame, callousness, belittlement, and dehumanization have no place in God’s kingdom. It’s as if we’ve forgotten. As if we’re distracted. As if our souls are, in fact, divided. And while it’s easy for me to point the finger and say all of that is happening out there, if I’m being honest, much of it is happening in here, taking up space in my very own heart. Maybe you can relate?

And I wonder what would happen if we, as the people of God, remembered. If, at the top of our to-do lists, we had written down, “Seek first the kingdom of God.” If our participation in the building of God’s kingdom, here and now, was our main priority—the umbrella, the filter, the lens through which we see all other tasks and commitments.

Maybe we wouldn’t be afraid to change our minds so that they might look more like the mind of Christ.

Maybe we would better consider the needs and experiences of others—of all people—and care deeply for the world around us.

Maybe we would admit that the way it always has been isn’t necessarily the way it should be.

Maybe we would be willing to let go. And in other cases, maybe we’d be willing to hold on.

Maybe we would learn how to love unconditionally, hope defiantly, give more generously, trust more easily.

Maybe we would live and act and work like we believe the kingdom of God is at hand. Here and now. That the work we do now—in big and bold and small and subtle ways—matters. That the work we do now will last.

The best news is that we don’t do this work alone. Jesus leads us and the Holy Spirit empowers us every step of the way.

So today, if you’re feeling distracted and divided, remember to seek first the kingdom of God. As we seek to follow Jesus, may that one single focus top the priority lists of our souls.