As Jesus was concluding what has become known as the "Sermon on the Mount," he said, "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof" (Matthew 6:33-34).
Often, we see people placing money and belongings before God. It is like things have become their god and they must worship at the "shrine of things" 24 hours a day seven days a week. This is reminiscent of a parable Jesus told in Luke 12:16-21.
On the other side of this coin, we see those who wait for God to provide everything for them. This is a misunderstanding of the saying of Jesus. God means for man to provide for his family, (I Timothy 5:8). God is not opposed to men having money, but he does warn against money being an idol. "For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows" (I Timothy 6:10).
So what is the answer? We need to understand the teachings of God. Put him first in all we do, care for our families, provided for them, but do not let the physical things get in the way of our service and devotion to God.
When it comes to our salvation, we need to remember to put God first. There are some hard things to understand in the Bible, but how to be saved is not one of them. God has told us in his word how to be saved. We find that those who followed Jesus had to believe that he was the Son of God, "I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins" (John 8:24).
In another passage, the holy scriptures tell again of the importance of faith. "But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him" (Hebrews 11:6).
Some would stop here, but God’s word tells that there is more to be done. God commands that we repent of our sins. "And the times of this ignorance God winked at, but now commandeth all men everywhere to repent" (Acts 17:30). Why is it so hard to keep God in the proper place?
If God is in the proper place in our lives we will seek to follow his teachings without addition or subtraction. The Bible tells us how to attain salvation. We are to have faith in Jesus as the Son of God, repent of our sins and then we are to confess the name of Christ as the Son of God and we are to be baptized for the remission of our sins, (Acts 2:38).
May all come to trust in God for the blessings of this life and the blessing of salvation given to man by God.