Matthew 6:33 “ Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you.”
As the title indicates, this brief sermon attempts to fill a large order. Yet we realize clearly, as we look about us in daily life, that there is such a secret.
Men are living on three levels. On the lowest level, life masters them, beats them, empties them of all that is good and wholesome, subdues them and conquers them. On the second level, they are always battling life, with no decisive victory won by either side. First they are down, then they are up. But on the highest level, we find the inspiring picture of great souls who have conquered life.
These three levels are also indicated in other ways, and to present a true picture of them let me today classify them as (1) man the servant of Mammon; (2) man trying to serve two masters; and (3) man the servant of God.
But that is enough regarding titles. The problem of the mastery of life is graphically presented by the Gospels, which at the lowest level show men controlled by greed or by worry. These two evils are similar in effect, and affect all classes of humanity. Usually the rich are greedy and the poor worry. On the lowest level of life both rich and poor suffer similar pains.
On the middle level, the Gospels show men still harried by greed and by worry, but as a sort of concession to their conscience they try to serve God. This is the outward service which so many undertake, without the inner Presence of God in their lives or the inner compulsion that brings victory.
Then on the Jesus-level, we find those who are first seeking the kingdom of God and His righteousness, with all other things following in their right places. Of these, the thoughtful Psalmist writes, “I have been young and now I am old, yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.”
Let us consider these three levels of life, and then ask ourselves how we may attain the highest level.
I. Men and women who are beaten by life.
Every street corner, every subway train, every crowded neighborhood includes some unfortunates who are victims of life itself. They are men and women who have found the going too difficult and the victory too remote. Their expressionless faces confess the emptiness within their souls. They are crushed and subdued by forces which they do not fully understand.
Current social conditions are partly at fault in producing this result. They all tend to minimize the importance of the individual in order to exalt the importance of the mass. In Europe there is war, conscription of life and property, dictatorship and almost every other social evil. In our own land, the brightness of freedom's light is dimmed with a foggy sort of governmental philosophy which gives lip service to the rights of the individuals, and yet attempts to conform him to the official standards of righteousness and justice. Under such circumstances, how can one feel important or valuable? Just as bad as political oppression is social oppression. What shall we say to a farmer who tries to eke a living by working worthless land? Or to a worker who struggles vainly to support his family on a less-than-subsistence wage? Or to young people who are faced with a blank wall in their search for jobs? All these things are factors when life masters the individual. The inevitable cry is “What can one person do against so many, or against so strong a social system?”
Some of these beaten folk are religious, and yet their religious philosophy is just as bad as their conditions. They have been brought to the point of saying “It can't be helped,” or “We'll always be poor,” or “We'll always have wars.”
With two billions of people in the world, the forces of mass movement are really far beyond the control of any one person or any one group. When we seek to direct so great a herd, we need to look to Jesus for a satisfactory method and a suitable answer to the plaints of the world. His answer is short, sure and satisfying. Over and above all the forces of the world, he says, is a great, vital, moving power, a God Who Cares. No one need feel alone or helpless with such a God and such a power. Not a sparrow can fall without His knowledge, Jesus says. And as for men, “the very hairs of your head are numbered.” God cares so much. His power is as great as all that: So Jesus says to these beaten, crushed men who feel themselves victims of imponderable movements, “Fear not. Worry not. Don't depend on your own power. You are of more value than many sparrows, and your Heavenly Father knows that you have need of these things.”
II. So, on the second level, men and women try to compromise.
With the assurance of Jesus that God is all-powerful, men and women accept this power of God, but try to look out for themselves just the same. They trust in God mildly, but still worry and fret. In other words, they try to serve both God and Mammon.
In the language of every day, this sort of a compromise is called “playing safe,” or “not letting the right hand know what the left is doing.”
Jesus recognizes this evil condition in the lives of many. He says most definitely, “You cannot serve two masters.” “A house divided against itself shall not stand.” The whole principle of the thing is wrong.
Jesus gave some illustrations of these insincere people in his parables. Once He spoke about a man with well-filled barns, who greedily said to himself “My soul, you have done right well for yourself. You shall wax fat for many years.” To such egotism and insolence, God had only one reply. “Thou fool! This night shall thy soul be required of thee.”
The rich young ruler was a step higher. When he came to appeal to Christ for help in mastering life, he was given just one condition: “One thing thou lackest . Go, and sell what thou hast, and come and follow me.” But he turned and went away sadly, for he was very rich. Let us not misinterpret these stories, claiming that Jesus was opposed to the right of an individual to hold private property. The disciples had many possessions which they did not relinquish -- boats and houses, for example. But those possessions were not foremost, or all-important, in their lives.
A compromising, double life, is a source of grief and sadness for men. It simply can't be done. It causes a dizzy zigzag between the programs of life, the service of two masters. And among these compromisers are many so-called Christians. They are like steamers crossing the ocean in war-time, changing their courses back and forth in order to avoid detection. In order to cross the ocean, those boats need twice as much fuel and twice as much steam as a ship that goes directly from one port to another. Unfortunately, we have only one life given us to live, and even the most active sort of living fails to give us sufficient time or energy to serve two masters adequately. We cannot double our lifetime or increase our “steam.” We have only one course available to us -- the direct, straight line.
In ancient days, the legend of Scylla and Charybdis was famous. These two treacherous rocks were separated only by a narrow channel. In trying to avoid one, ships were often wrecked upon the other. God will not accept a divided life, for treacherous shoals loom on every side. There is not such a thing as compromise with God. The attempt to divide and to serve opposing forces leads only to disaster and destruction.
III. On the third level, let us first point out the importance of the individual. Every crowd is, after all, merely a collection of individuals. Everything in this world is done by individuals, either working alone or working through groups.
Just as an example, Benjamin Franklin flew a kite and as a result, discovered a principle of electricity. An individual made this discovery. It did not descend upon the world in some vague way, reaching everyone, nor was it promulgated by some powerful figure in world affairs, to be accepted without question by all men. It came from an individual mind. So too, Louis Pasteur one day saw a man's leg being cauterized with fire because of dog bite, and this led him to later discoveries that have been a blessing to all mankind. All great movements, political and social, have their origin and root in the work of some individual.
The message of real religion is the importance of the individual. Each one is able to make a contribution of real importance to life. The realization of this is the first step in the task of mastering life. God has made us as separate, individual people. When His word comes into the world, as in the life of Jesus, it comes through an individual. The work of saving the world is not entrusted to some great, impersonal force, but to the work of individuals. Why, we are accustomed in Christian theology to think of God Himself as one person, a single individual. The first step in mastering life is to recognize the importance of the individual.
When Joan of Arc told King Charles of the heavenly voices which bade her lead the armies of France , the King became petulant and complained “Voices! Voices! Voices! Why don't they come to me? I am King, not you!”
To this, Joan replied “They do come to you, but you don't hear them. When the Angelus rings, you cross yourself and are done with it. But if you prayed from your heart and then listened, as I do, you would hear, as I do.”
Does it seem that the experience of Joan of Arc is a very isolated and unsupported instance? Do you ask, well, what can we do? Let me answer, then, that we can of our own efforts accomplish something; some puny, ineffectual result can be obtained. But when you plus God start to work, mountains will move and earth itself will be no barrier to your success.
Saul was a learned rabbinical student at Jerusalem, with a sadistic flair for the persecution of the Christians. His persecutions were miserable affairs, and would in the course of time have gained him no renown but only universal hatred. But one day God came into His life with the full power of His eternal spirit, and Saul plus God became the beloved Paul.
What do we amount to, taken by ourselves? What can we accomplish? Not much? But as Saul plus God became the Paul who “turned the world upside down,” so you too can share in the world-shaking power of God Himself.
William Duncan as a young man was sent to the Alaskan Island of Metlakatla as a missionary. It was a poor field and observers felt that his task was a hopeless one. But after forty years, a great feat had been performed there. In place of dirt, squalor, ignorance, and vice the inhabitants had become a people who were clean, moral, religious and helpful. Great credit was given to Duncan for this change, but he turned it aside. It was Duncan plus God.
Dwight L. Moody, when his Chicago church burned down, went to London upon invitation to preach there. The first Sunday his morning message failed miserably and he felt that the London congregations were unresponsive. His inclination was not to preach again. But in the evening the powers of an unseen world fell upon the audience and 500 people responded to his appeal to make Christ the master of their lives. What had happened between morning and evening? Moody himself explained it by saying that someone had prayed and called down the power of heaven itself upon his message. But then, genuine prayer is always one plus God!
On the road to Damascus , a voice called “Saul, Saul.” He heard, he answered, and he went forth with and for God. From that time on, it was Saul plus God. And at one time, he said “I can do all things!” Was this an idle boast from an over-enthusiastic convert? Not if we read the next few words “--- through Christ which worketh in me!
Do you believe this? If you do, you have already found a blessing. You --- plus God --- can conquer life, overcome all obstacles, live victoriously, master life. That's why Jesus said “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you!”