The Principle of First

Mathew 6:33 clearly tells us that we are to put the Kingdom first and that when the Kingdom is first in our lives, everything else is added to our lives. The Principle of First, is the awareness that there are things that God gives precedence to in His Word; as well as, there are things that the Word says are a priority for our lives.  If we can get first things first and our lives aligned with the way God teaches us to live, we will have the greatest potential for blessing and to be a blessing to others.  God desires to make you a blessing to others!

In Mathew, chapter 6, Jesus tells his disciples that they are to put the Kingdom before anything else and when they do, that their needs will be met.  He talks about how God provides for His creation, that we are valuable, and that God provides for us in great ways.  Our faith must be in God who is provider!  If we can say God is our provider, then we can walk by faith in our finances, our relationships, our jobs, ministries, and every other area of our lives.  Getting our biblical finances in order is a high priority for the disciple.  Why is that? Because if you learn faith in your finances, that kind of faith translates into every other arena of your life!  When we have our finances in biblical order, we come into covenant with God and His Kingdom (church). When we do this through the tithe, through seed-offerings, as well as alms, we are living by faith.  One of the first things we need to do to bring our finances into biblical order is to tithe. What do we believe belongs to God and what do we believe belongs to us?

There was a woman who had finished shopping and returned to her car. She found four men inside the car. She dropped her shopping bags, drew a handgun, and screamed, “I have a gun, and I know how to use it! Get out of the car.” Those men did not wait for a second invitation; they got out and ran like crazy. The woman, somewhat shaken, loaded her shopping bags and then got into the car. But no matter how she tried, she could not get her key into the ignition. Then it dawned on her: her car was parked four or five spaces away!  She loaded her grocery bags into her own car and then drove to the police station to turn herself in. The desk sergeant to whom she told the story nearly fell off his chair laughing. He pointed to the other end of the counter, where four men were reporting a carjacking by an old woman with thick glasses and curly white hair, less than five feet tall, and carrying a large handgun. No charges were filed. You see, she thought it was her car, but it really belonged to someone else. We think our lives and our finances are our own, but they really belong to God.

The way we steward our finances tells a story of what we believe belongs to God.  Jesus teaches us to put the Kingdom as our first priority and then he will take care of everything else that is important to us.  Kingdom before self, Kingdom before family, Kingdom before needs, Kingdom before wants, Kingdom before desires.  That is a crucifying act of consecration, but God promises that when we put the Kingdom first, ALL THESE THINGS ARE ADDED TO US!  That means putting the Kingdom first is putting my family first!  My family is provided for by the blessing of God and there is no greater way to provide!  All my hopes, needs, desires, and even my wants are met when I put His Kingdom first!

This week, let’s make a commitment to get our hearts right with the God’s Principle of First.  When His Kingdom is first, the things that I desire to take care of, are already covered.  I do not have to worry, doubt, or fear that provision will be there because God is a God of His Word. His word concerning provision for you is as good as gold!