ICS Daily Devotions
Seek Ye First the Kingdom of God
Matthew 6:33 (NKJV) But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
As believers of Christ, we have eternity in perspective and our top priority should be God, His kingdom and His righteousness, followed next in order by our family and then other concerns. We are aware that life on earth is temporal, that we are sojourners and pilgrims on this earth and that we will not bring anything with us when we pass on into glory.
Unfortunately, many of us spend a lot of time developing our identity in the business or corporate world in order to be successful and rich, often without God’s blessing. We may want to prove to the world (sometimes especially to those who have belittled us) that we can make it on our own and be successful. This is pride. There is always a price to be paid for affluence apart from God, and there are sorrows that come with success apart from Him. Our health, family relationships and our walk with God may not be among our top priorities in our pursuit for success. Our pride might have led us to venture into something that we were not particularly gifted in or have been clearly called to, and we now find ourselves failing. Some of us may have believed that we can be an entrepreneur and do a better job than our previous bosses. We might now find ourselves buried in financial woes if we had been rash in making an investment decision. Not everyone is a gifted entrepreneur or pioneer. Such persons need to be able to grasp the big picture, have a strategic mind, be able to develop the business, have good EQ and very deep pockets, especially if it’s based in Shanghai or any first-tier cities in China. There are many good ideas, but not all of them will succeed, particularly if they do not have the blessing of God. And even if success does come to us, we may need to pay a high personal price for it, possibly with the loss of something precious.
There are people who have adopted unethical ways to climb the corporate ladder, who could not wait to be promoted to hold a title of significance in the corporate world. And some of us have our identity so entrenched in our job that other aspects of who we are, be that parent, spouse or child of God, are suffering as a result.
Without God, pride will cause us to eventually fall and depart from Him even if we are currently successful in business or make a lot of money. Without God, we will not always win in life. An unexpected turn of events or a sudden shift or slowdown in the economy may cause our investment to take a beating and our world may crumble. We might be made redundant or our health might require us to take a break from our career. Therefore, we should always remember to order our priorities aright and that when we seek the Kingdom of God first, all other good things will follow.
Sermon Series: Resilience
