The Frustrated Christian Does Not Seek the Kingdom First

But seek ye first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”  Matthew 6:33

Many people protest that they do indeed seek the kingdom first.  My litmus test for that is to suggest those individuals to reflect on what they spend the majority of their time in prayer about…is it the kingdom or is it a desire?  The frustrated christian is frustrated if they are trying to reverse the order of this scripture.  Some are seeking the other things first and leaving God’s kingdom to take the back seat.

Let’s take a moment to explore the parable of the four soils.  In Mark 4:18 it reads “Others, like the seed sown among the thorns heard the word, but the worries of this life, the deceitfullness of wealth, and desires for other things choke the word and make it unfruitfull.  Others, like the seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce crop thirty, sixty, or one hunfred fold.”

What I want to focus on here are those “desires for other things.”  These desires are anything that prevent us from sowing seeds of righteousness and the lives of others.   I noticed that in God’s word…he only instructs us two seek after things…that’s his kingdom and his righteousness.  Desires will be added.  Our first ministry is to win souls for Christ.  Our prayers should first be for the harvest of souls.  Our personal desires should not choke out the good seed…which is the commission to win others for Christ.  In the next verse God says this, “Do you bring a lamp to put it under a bowl or a bed?  We are not to put the message of the gospel under a lamp.  We should be witnesses and bring light to those who cannot see.  We should be scattering the seed about, in hopes that God will take our works and multiply it–to ready a harvest of souls.

The christian will always be frustrated if they primarily focus on the “added.”  If our minds are set on God’s kingdom, we will not be frustrated by our “desires for these other things.”

The Frustrated Christian is Cosumed By Toil ,and the Pursuit of Wealth and Advancement

“What  does a man gain from all his labor at which he toils under the sun?” Ecclesiates 1:3

In the book of Ecclesiates, Solomon–to whom God bestowed more wisom and more riches than anyone that ever lives, ironically declares that the pursuit of pleasures, toil and wealth are meaningless!  He equates chasing after these things to chasing after the wind.  Instead, Solomon emphasizes that happiness comes from the pursuit of God and seeking to please him.  Ecclesiastes 2:25-26.

Solomon warns that those who love money and obsessively seek it never find the hapiness that it promises.  Ecclesiates 5:10.  He states that it is far better to be a poor youth than a king that lacks such wisdom.  Men toil their entire lives to accumulate wealth that gets enjoyed or squandered by someone else when they pass away.

Solomon recommends this, “That everyone eat, drink, and find satisfaction in their work–this is the gift of God.” Ecclesiastes 3:13-14.  He warns against toiling for the sake of accumulating wealth.   Solomon does not mean that we should not work hard though, rather suggests “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might.” Ecclesiastes 9:10.  The same commission was given by Paul to the  Colossians:

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not form men, since you receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward.  It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”  Colossians 3:23

Why else should we work, as unto the Lord?  Because the word says that promotion comes not from the east or the west, but from God (Psalm 76:5).  So we work heartily to him and expect our reward from him.  God is the judge that will lift one up and sit another down.  But most importantly, Mark 4:19 states that the deceiftfulness of wealth makes the word of the gospel unfruitful.  A man cannot serve two masters, we cannot serve both God and money.  Either we are going to love money and forsake the kingdom, or vice versa.  Matthew 6:24.