Seek Ye First

"But seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you." - Matthew 6:33

The combination of reflecting on Haggai and the election of a new pope - and, frankly, having some time to meditate on the combination of the two - has left in a place where I had not really suspected  I would be:  the question of a life dedicated to the glory of God.

This came at me from two different angles:  from Haggai, the question about being about one's own business rather than concerned about glorifying God through making Him and His work a priority as large as our own; from the election of Francis, the testimony of others concerning a man who has lived a life a doing good works and has brought credibility to the belief he professes.

Both of which thoughts brought me to my own situation as I continued to move through the daily work of my own life:  how much am I about the business of God?

You write "the business of God" or "the Kingdom of God" and one almost tends to cringe inside, thinking of  the extreme circumstances that one would be called to:  selling everything, living in a cardboard box preaching, traveling far away to an unknown land and culture to be a missionary.  I suppose that is a natural human reaction we all have - thinking of the worst case possible - but I also don't wonder if it is a tool that Satan uses against us as well, trying to walking us away from considering a life more dedicated to God by feeding our own fears and sense of sacrifice.

But is the problem really with what we are asked as Christians to do, or is it with the fact that we don't want to do it?

What if we came the question a second way:  how am I glorifying (giving honor to) God in my life?  How is the work of my life testifying to what I say I believe?

The question phrased this way speaks nothing of supposed sacrifice or inconvenience.  It speaks simply of glorifying God - of giving honor to Him, of making Him great.  And how do we honor Him and make Him great?  By living our lives and acting in such a way that we are in accordance with His word and thereby giving credibility to what we say.

Let us be honest:  I look too much like the world.  Other than knowing that I go to church, is there anything in my life that gives testimony to the God of the Universe?  I'm not specifically speaking about witnessing, but acting in deed and through word in such a way that I glorify God.  Or is it simply the case that my Christianity is more of a veneer, a thin overcoat with nothing to maintain it underneath?

What to do?  That is the real question.  If this is the problem, how do I rectify it?

A sudden spurt of wholesale "change" will not do it.  Trust me, I have tried multiple times.  There is a large burst of activity that never seems to maintain itself.  Instead, I do not wonder if the change starts much smaller than that:  by simply driving a wedge.

Financial planners use this concept.  When there is a salary increase, instead of spending all the new money that is coming in, find a way to keep the finances at the same amount and use the different between the new income and the old outgo - the "wedge" - to begin saving or paying down debt.  Over time, this wedge will get bigger as expenses continue to decrease.

Likewise here.  Maybe I cannot immediately make my entire life about seeking God and glorifying Him, but is there one point where I can drive a wedge between what I am doing now and what I should be doing?  It can be small but should be meaningful, something that either God commands or glorifies Him.  Something, anything that makes the Gospel more credible.

Of course this is one of the traditions of Lent, to deny ourselves something in remembrance of Christ who ultimately denied Himself all.  It is just extending that into our daily lives to make the reality of the God of the universe visible to those around us.

The wedge is only ultimately temporary, of course.  We should continue to expand that wedge as much as we can throughout our life until we reach that point where all that we say and do glorifies our God.  But we need to start somewhere, with one simple act, seeking first the Kingdom of God by giving physicality to our belief, of glorifying God in our words and actions. 

Many speak of how their God is worthy of glory.  Let us live like it.