"Soren Kierkegaard considers what sort of effort could be made to pursue the kingdom of God. Should a person get a suitable job in order to exert a virtuous influence? His answer: no, we must first seek God's kingdom. Then should we give away all our money to feed the poor? Again the answer: no, we must first seek God's kingdom. Well, then perhaps we are to go out and preach this truth to the world that people are to seek first God's kingdom? Once again the answer is a resounding: no, we are first to seek the kingdom of God. Kierkegaard concludes, 'Then in a certain sense it is nothing I shall do. Yes, certainly, in a certain sense it is nothing, become nothing before God, learn to keep silent; in this silence is the beginning, which is, first to seek God's kingdom." (Excerpt from p 86-87 of Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster)Matthew 6:33, "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." Simplicity. The above quote comes from a chapter in a book on Spiritual Disciplines. One of these disciplines is simplicity. Why do we have greed in our culture? A lack of contentment with simplicity. Why do we have so much anxiety over our things? A lack of simplicity. Why are we so busy? A lack of simplicity. Why does the church seem to mimic the world so much? A lack of simplicity.
The Gospel at its core is, in one word, simplicity. It is neither being rich, nor being poor. It is neither keeping the law, or breaking the law. It is neither my generosity, or my greed. It is simply seeking first His kingdom and His righteousness. Anything else we seek is complicated and it is an idol. Is that harsh? Maybe, but it IS simple.
What gets in the way of you seeking first His kingdom and His righteousness? Is it time? Is it your mortgage? Is it your favorite TV show? Is it your spouse? Is it your children? Is it church? Is it evangelism? Anything that replaces God as our focus becomes our idol. I've been thinking about this a lot lately. The Bible tells me not to worry about tomorrow. So why do I? It is because my pursuit is not simple, it is complicated. I am trying to seek His kingdom and be in debt to the mortgage lender. I am trying to seek His righteousness and watch all my favorite shows. I am trying to seek His kingdom and teach His church. But what if I just pursued His kingdom and His righteousness? What if I lived in a bad investment of a home, but was free from the worry of a mortgage? Could I seek Him better? What if I didn't have television, but read His word more? Could I seek Him more intimately? Sound radical? Maybe, but it IS simple.
Posts
I think there truly are many things that get in the way of "seeking His Kingdom and His righteousness". But I can't imagine that teaching His Church (which is His Kingdom) and evangelism (bringing more people into His Kingdom) could be one of those things. Television? Certainly! Financial struggles? Most definitely! But if teaching His church and evangelism are not a part of seeking His Kingdom and His righteousness then what is?
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you brought that up Tom. I have struggled with this thought for a considerable amount of time. Think for a moment about the pharisees, scribes, and teachers of the law. For the sake of religious piety and trying to accomplish things for the kingdom, they were missing the kingdom. In Matt 15:8-9 Jesus quotes Isaiah and says, "this people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. But in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the precepts of men."
ReplyDeleteIn our American christian culture we have a certain level of religious snobbery. We have taken important things, such as evangelism, baptism, teaching, and made them THE thing. Evangelism is a good example. So many have the audacity to think that they can lead people to Christ through evangelism when they themselves are not even in a relationship with Him. We offer classes on evangelism and teach people how to evangelize. These all may be good. But are we teaching them that they must FIRST seek His kingdom and His righteousness? Any good thing or amoral thing becomes an idol when it becomes as important or more important than our worship of God.
Hopefully I have expanded on what I meant a little better, or maybe I made it more unclear.
It seems like you are talking about the motivation of those who are teaching or evangelizing. Is their heart in the right place? Are they truly seeking to do God's will or are they simply trying to exalt themselves? As would be the case with the Pharisees. However, teaching and evangelizing are part of what God has commanded us to do. And I think a big part of worshiping God is being obedient to His word.
ReplyDeleteI certainly agree that a persons heart needs to be in the right place when serving the Kingdom, and maybe that's all you are saying. Perhaps you are not saying this, but I don't think that obedience to God's word and worshiping God are two things that should be separated.
(Forgive me if I am coming off divisive.)
Sorry it took me so long to respond. I really can only spend time on Fridays writing on here. I understand what you are saying concerning obedience and worship. I agree with you 110%. In fact, obedience is at the heart of worship, or else why would Jesus say "if you love me you will keep my commandments." But here's the issue.
ReplyDeleteIn many of our American churches, we have made evangelism the "thing." But is this our ultimate purpose? Certainly it falls within the realm of what God has sent us to do, but what is the foundation for evangelism and everything else we do? At the core of it all is the glory of God. Obviously, I can not know the motivations of anyone's heart but my own. But I say these things as a warning to put first things first.
How can we call people to a God we do not give full worship to? And just because we go to church or are in the ministry or attended Bible college does not mean we worship Him. That issue is much deeper. So when I say that evangelism or the church can interfere with seeking His kingdom, I mean that, when misused or improperly understood, these things can become idols just as much as TV or sex can. Does that clarify my train of thought here?
I hate to comment because I know so little. I just realized, after being a christain for 30 years that I am not content because I have played church for 30 years. I was so dissatisfied that I quit church. After reading the Bible this morning I realized I have to seek God's Kingdom first. Thank you for your blog. You had a wonderful way of explaining yourself.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous, I pray that God will draw you to Himself. Seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened to you. It is not about how much you know, but who you know. Thank you for your comment and please feel free to do so anytime.
ReplyDelete