Living Inside Out or Outside In +

So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.
Matthew 6:31-33 NLT

We get up. We go to work. We get our paycheck, pay our bills or make purchases, and repeat. Get up. Go to work. Pay bills.

Nothing wrong with working and taking care of business. The Word tells us we are to work. I think the question is, what is our motivation? What perspective do we have with regard to our work? Are we working strictly to keep a roof over our heads, put food on the table, take care of those things that address our personal comforts and/or desires? Do we rely solely on ourselves and the work of our hands?

I spent almost half of my life working to provide for just that. Frequently working two or three jobs at one time, trying to make ends meet. Always worrying about whether or not there would be enough. When there doesn't seem to be enough money to go around, our thoughts immediately go to tomorrow and next week and beyond. We live so focused on meeting the needs of the outside of our bodies.

Then I discovered this passage of Scripture. I was horrified to read that "these things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers..." And verse 34 tells us to not worry about tomorrow. How? How do we do that?

Seek the Kingdom of God above all else - the King James Version reads this way, Seek first the Kingdom of God.

First. Seek God FIRST and live righteously.

Living righteously has nothing to do with meeting the needs of the outside of our body. It's about changing our hearts and minds to live pleasing to God. We don't do that by what we wear or what we eat or how good we look. Remember, God told Samuel, Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. We who are following Christ must live from the inside out.

If we want out, we must seek the Kingdom of God above all else.

Prayer:

Father,
          Thank You for opening Your Word so we gain understanding. Help us to always remember that there is only room for one Number One and that's You. You are God and we are not. Holy Spirit, remind us always to seek FIRST the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen