You know when it comes to God's will for our lives, I've discovered that most people
are just trying to figure out what they should do
today.
They're asking questions like, who should I marry?
Where should I live, where should I go to college?
What career should I pursue?
Of course we all want to do something great with our lives, but to be honest it's usually
these questions that are weighing on people's minds
the most.
I remember several years ago after I'd finished preaching on the kingdom.
One of the elders of the church approached me.
Apparently he thought my message was a bit too abstract.
He said you know young man all these lofty ideals are wonderful.
But most of the people in the church are just trying to
figure out how to pay their bills and get along
with their spouse and raise their kids and do a
good job at work.
I really didn't like what he had to say, but after
I thought about it for a while I realized that in
many ways this man was right.
I think most Christians really do think of the
Kingdom of God as this abstract ethereal religious concept.
So reverent that it's best left to their pastor or
someone more spiritual than them.
It reminds me of what the famous psychologist Abraham Maslow used to teach.
He developed this concept of a hierarchy of needs
which he illustrated with a pyramid like the one
you see here.
And you'll notice that it contains several distinct
layers.
At the bottom of the pyramid, the foundation was
represented by the basic human necessities.
The physiological needs, things like oxygen and
food and sleep.
Now the idea is as you go higher on the pyramid, the needs and concerns become more and more
complicated as you go.
Once you've met the basic needs at the bottom then you begin to become concerned about things
like the security of your body and of your finances
in the second layer.
By the time you get to the third layer there is
the need for love and belonging and a family and other relationships and so on.
Now when you finally reach the very top of the
pyramid, the pinnacle, this is where you find the loftiest ideals.
Maslow called this the place of self actualization.
This is where a person becomes interested in things
like morality and spirituality and even creativity.
This is surely the category where Maslow would have placed something as spiritual as the
pursuit as the Kingdom of God.
Now it was Maslow's opinion that in order to reach
the top of the pyramid, what you had to do, was
to start at the bottom by meeting the basic necessities first.
In other words if a person didn't have food on the
table, they wouldn't be interested in something as
abstract as the Kingdom of God.
Now admittedly this does seem to be the most intuitive approach to life doesn't it?
Let's concentrate first on putting food on the table.
paying the bills, and then we can think of something
spiritual like the Kingdom of God.
It seems so practical.
It seems so responsible But what Jesus taught, is actually the exact
opposite.
Look at what Jesus said in Matthew chapter six.
He said don't worry about what you'll eat.
Don't worry about what you'll wear.
Your Father in Heaven knows that you need these things and he will take care of you.
Instead Jesus said seek first the Kingdom of
God and all of these things will be added unto you.
What Jesus was teaching was the exact opposite of Maslow's hierarchy of needs.
Jesus taught us to start first at the pinnacle and then
he said if you begin at that highest place, put the
Kingdom of God first, everything else will be
taken care of.
Now He doesn't take the time to tell us exactly what
these things are.
He just calls them all these things, physical, mental
and emotional needs are all included.
Now the reason that this seems so counter intuitive
to most people is that the pressing needs of life, things
like food and friends and finances.
They're so close to us, we feel them right now
so they seem extremely important.
But actually this is just an illusion.
In reality all of these things are actually very, very
small.
But it's a matter of perspective.
In order to put all these things in their proper
perspective what you have to do is take a step back
and view them in the light of eternity.
View them in the context of the Kingdom of God, and
suddenly something becomes clear.
When you compare all of these things to the Kingdom of God in the context of eternity,
they're actually extremely minute and miniscule.
In fact right now, since I put this into the proper
perspective, you probably can't even read the
words on the base of this pyramid.
So let me move it a little bit closer.
Jesus taught us to seek the Kingdom of God first because Jesus had an eternal perspective.
And as we've just learned your perspective makes
all the difference.
So if you want to know what job God has for you,
seek his Kingdom and you'll find your occupational calling.
Do you want to know who you should marry?
Seek God's Kingdom and you'll find your spouse.
Do you want to know where you should go to college?
Seek God's Kingdom and you'll land in the right
school.
Do you want to know where you should live?
Well seek the Kingdom of God my friend and he'll
lead you to the right geographical location.
My friend, here's the bottom line, don't waste your
life seeking all of these things.
Seek the Kingdom of God first and all of these things will be taken care of.
Perspective makes a big difference doesn't it?
You see what I'm trying to get across to you today
that if the Kingdom of God is our priority, if we
really see it in its proper context.
Then it's obvious that we should be seeking it
first.
A person who isn't seeking the Kingdom of God
first doesn't realize how significant it is and how
everything else in this world pales in comparison to it, amen.