Matthew 6:33 (ESV)
But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness,
and all these things will be added to you.
Deep within each of us is a value system. It's all very
organized and structured. Some things take first place in our hearts; some
things are important to us but are secondary; some things are far down the
list. Other things are carefully disqualified and never make the list at all. I
have a list like that inside me, and so do you. It's not usually very visible
at first glance; nor is it always consciously determined. But the choices we
make eventually reveal it. I'm revealing this inner value system every time I
make a purchase, or decide how to schedule my time, or select the words I use,
or budget my finances, or select my friends, or decide how active I'll be in my
church. We all make decisions on the basis of what takes priority in our
internal value system. Jesus speaks about this in our reading for today, which
is part of his well-known Sermon on the Mount. Some things in our life are first;
others are second; others are less important. We will live best when we put God
and his way of life at the top of our list. It's dangerous to set up our value
system without much thought. It's an internal system, but it influences so much
of what we do. All our decisions are shaped by inner values. Does your value
system match what Christ desires?
Dear Lord, we ask You to look inside us and examine the
values we have adopted. Evaluate them and help us to see where we need to make
changes to be more like You. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
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