Choosing the Best

GOLDEN TEXT: “And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment; that ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ.” —Philippians 1:9,10

MATTHEW 6:19-34; PHILIPPIANS 1:9-11; 4:8

JESUS’ admonition, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness,” sums up, as it were, all those “best” things which every true Christian endeavors to choose. In the Master’s discourse it comes as a conclusion, and is in contrast with his words of caution not to be overanxious about our physical needs—“what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on.”

The King James Version reads, “take no thought,” but the Greek text conveys more the idea of taking no “anxious thought.” The New Standard Version reads, “Do not be anxious about your life.” While in the flesh consideration has to be given to the needs of the body, but these physical needs should not be the first consideration of life, nor need we be overly anxious about them; for we can rest contentedly in Jesus’ assurance that our Heavenly Father knows our needs, and is just as able to care for us as he is for the sparrows and the lilies.

To seek the kingdom means striving to do God’s will now in order that we might live and reign with Christ later for the blessing of all the families of the earth. This is a glorious hope, which should inspire us to diligence and zeal in applying ourselves to the study of the Word, and in faithfully performing all its directives, that ultimately we might hear those welcome words of commendation, “Thou has been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things.”—Matt. 25:21

These “few things” in which we are to be faithful include the separation of ourselves from the world and its spirit, and the renewing of our minds through study of the divine Word and meditation upon its promises and precepts. (Rom. 12:2) Paul’s formula for effectively accomplishing this is given in Philippians 4:8, where he presents a list of things upon which our minds as Christians can profitably dwell—“Whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report: if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.”

Happy is the Christian who chooses these “best” thoughts upon which his mind may feed. To “think on these things” means to have our minds occupied with the thoughts of God, thoughts which are recorded in his Word by the power of his Holy Spirit. Habitual thinking on “these things” will bring forth in our lives what the Scriptures speak of as the “fruit of the spirit”—love, joy, peace, long-suffering, patience, etc.

It has been well said that the sum of all these graces, or fruits of the Spirit, is love. So when Paul speaks of abounding “yet more and more in love” he includes every development of the Christian life. But love means much more than a benign attitude toward others. It is the principle of unselfishness, guided in its manifestations by the instructions of God’s Word. Paul wrote, “I pray that your love may abound … in knowledge and in all judgment; that ye may approve things that are excellent.”

Love is a godlike principle, and the Lord’s love discriminates between right and wrong. Peter wrote that “love shall cover the multitude of sins,” but it doesn’t cover all sin, and Peter’s statement is intended merely to encourage an attitude of forgiveness toward the unintentional weaknesses of the brethren in Christ.—I Pet. 4:8

If we abound in a discriminating love, a love that discerns between right and wrong, it means that we will be “filled with the fruits of righteousness”—the “fruit of the Spirit.” After presenting a list of the evidences of this fruit, the Apostle Peter adds, “If these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall; for so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”—I Pet. 1:8-11

Thus it is that if we choose to think on these “best” things, treasuring them up in our hearts that they might produce the fruitage of the Spirit in our lives, we will be “seeking first” the kingdom of God, and in God’s due time will gain an abundant entrance into that kingdom.

QUESTIONS

How do Christians seek the kingdom of God?

Do Christians need to worry about their temporal needs?

What are some of the things which should occupy the thoughts of Christians?

What is love, and how is it manifested?

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