"Riches profit not in the day of wrath: but righteousness delivereth from death." Proverbs 11:4
What is your top priority in life? Many people spend their lives completely focused on accumulating material wealth. Not everyone who falls into this habit would think of themselves as focused on accumulating wealth, many would just say that they were trying to provide for their families. While we are to provide for our families, many times we can make some serious sacrifices concerning righteous living in order to accumulate what we think we need financially. People neglect attending worship services, spiritual disciplines such as prayer and Bible reading, and even neglect addressing serious sin problems, in order to make sure they are financially sound. However, our passage tells us that the number one priority in our lives should be righteousness. “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God” Mt. 6:33. Jesus makes this our number one priority and then tells us that all other concerns will be taken care of if God’s Kingdom and righteousness is our top priority. The other New Testament principle that ties in here would be, What does it profit a man if he gain the whole world and loose his soul? What would you give in exchange for your soul?( Mt.16:26) Maybe we should rephrase that question and ask, What are we giving in exchange for our soul? May we be serious about putting God's kingdom first in our lives.