This last entry will complete our series of articles on the topic of guaranteed growth. If we want to be faithful and prosperous servants of our heavenly father, we must continue to grow in His ways. If we are not growing we become stagnant and begin to die. I would like to conclude these articles with our keeping God first and foremost in our lives. This is a sure way for growth.

During the Jesus’ discourse on the mount, Christ warned His hearers not to place too much emphasis of their lives on material things. He tells the multitude that they can’t serve God and material things at the same time. The servant is a servant of the one that he holds more highly. (Matt 6:24 ) Along with the multitude, Christ teaches us that we are not to seek after the things of this life. (Matt 6:32 ) He said that this is what the Greeks or Gentiles (those that were not holding any claim to Jehovah being their God) seek after. Christ tells us, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” (Matt 6:33 )

The words “seek ye first” does not mean to just look for those things first in time compared to seeking after worldly things. In other words, Jesus is not encouraging to look for God’s kingdom and righteousness first, and then when we find them, we go looking for something else. Jesus is telling us that we must have these things first in priority over all other things.

These things are to have precedence over self, family, work, money, government, or what ever else there may be. Notice what Jesus says, “So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.” (Luke 14:33 ) Does this mean that we are to turn our backs on everything? No, but we must not let anything stand between us and God. God must be first on our list of priorities. If something is standing between us and God, we must put it behind us.

There are two things in which Jesus told us to put first in our priorities. This is the kingdom of God and His righteousness. The word kingdom of God is speaking of the church, the body of Christ in which we must become members of if we want the spiritual blessings and hope of eternal life. Most people misunderstand the nature of the body of Christ. This body is a body of saved ones. In the book of Acts, we read that “they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.” (Acts 2:41 ) This adding that was done was done by God and into the body of Christ. (Acts 2:47 ) Many times we think in terms of joining a church, but in actuality, you cannot ‘join’ the church of Christ, God is the one who adds us to the church when we are saved. (Acts 2:47 ) This church is the kingdom of God, and Christ tells us to seek this kingdom first.

The righteousness of God, in which we are to seek first also, is the plan in which God makes us righteous. Righteousness means basically the same as justification. When we receive the righteousness of God, we receive justification. Paul tells us that this justification is found in the gospel. He says, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.” (Rom 1:16-17 ) Notice that Paul says that he is not ashamed of the gospel because it is the power of God unto salvation. We may ask, “Why is this so Paul?” Paul replies, “Because in the gospel is the righteousness of God revealed from faith, that is to say the system of doctrine or in other words ‘The Faith’, to faith, that is to say your faith, what you believe.”

This righteousness of God is God’s plan of salvation. This is how God makes you righteous, and Christ tells us to put this first in our lives.

If we want to have a guaranteed way of growing, we need to incorporate this principle in our lives. It is easy to get caught up in materialism in this materialistic world, but if we keep God’s kingdom and His righteousness first in our lives, we can keep from becoming caught up in things that can choke our growth.