Matthew 6.19-34

Jesus makes it pretty clear. We either pursue an earthly kingdom where we are the hero…everything is geared toward our own glory…we’re the main character in our story, or we pursue the kingdom that Jesus came to bring where He is the Hero…everything is geared toward bringing glory to the Father…where He alone is the Main Character of the Story. There is no middle ground.

While Jesus primarily addresses a religious audience, He also mentions the Gentiles, who were running their own kingdoms as well. You don’t have to be religious to seek the favor of men. The desire to build our own kingdoms has plagued us since our first parents decided that being image bearers wasn’t enough…they wanted to be their own gods. And we’ve been building kingdoms ever since.

Why are we so stressed? Maybe…just maybe it’s because we are busy trying to build our own kingdom. Hard not to do particularly when, as a society, we’ve made it pretty clear  “it’s all about me”. The American Dream has made earthly kingdom-building a virtue. And for many of us, we’ve fooled ourselves into thinking we can pursue both. We fail to see the impossibility of pursuing our own agenda, our own kingdom, while at the same time claiming citizenry in the kingdom of heaven. We compartmentalize our lives so that God gets Sunday morning, maybe a night during the week for youth group or small group, but then the rest is ours. And we build our kingdoms. A quick glance at our calendar or our checkbook is a pretty good indication of where and what kingdom we’re investing in. That and of course our level of stress.

You can’t pursue both kingdoms successfully…eventually your true loyalties will become clear. As kingdom citizens/everyday disciples, Jesus wants us to live worry-free lives, but that’s only possible as we learn to seek first His kingdom and His righteousness…then everything else falls into place.

pro rege

This post is based on a sermon from our Everyday Disciple series: Songs of the Season. Download the podcast at: Central Christian Church Main Service, or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, X or Threads: @ccclancaster. You can also download our Central Christian app in the iTunes App Store.