Matthew 6:25-34  

November - 20

FIRST THINGS

"Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." Matthew 6:33

Deep within each of us is a value system. It’s all very organized and structured. Some things take first place in our hearts; some things are important to us but are secondary; some things are far down the list. Other things are carefully disqualified and never make the list at all.

I have a list like that inside me, and so do you. It’s not usually very visible at first glance; nor is it always consciously determined. But the choices we make eventually reveal it. I’m revealing this inner value system every time I make a purchase, or decide how to schedule my time, or select the words I use, or budget my finances, or select my friends, or decide how active I’ll be in my church. We all make decisions on the basis of what takes priority in our internal value system.

Jesus speaks about this in our reading for today, which is part of his well-known Sermon on the Mount. Some things in our life are first; others are second; others are less important. We will live best when we put God and his way of life at the top of our list.

It’s dangerous to set up our value system without much thought. It’s an internal system, but it influences so much of what we do. All our decisions are shaped by inner values.

Does your value system match what Christ desires?

PRAYER

Dear Lord, look inside me and examine the values I’ve adopted. Evaluate them and help me to see where I need to make changes to be more like you. For Jesus’ sake, Amen.

马太福音   6:25-34

November - 20

首要之事

「你们要先求他的国和他的义，这些东西都要加给你们了。」 太6:33

在我们每一个人的内心深处，都有一套价值系统，而这套系统都是非常有组织和架构的。有些事情在我们心里占首要位置；另一些事情虽然也是重要的，但却居次要位置；再有一些事情，是居于榜末位置的；而其余事情，都已被我们剔除，在这份清单上无分。

我内心有一份这样的清单，相信你也不例外。这份清单，初时往往不起眼，也未必是我们有意识地决定的，但我们所作的抉择，却终究会将它反映出来。每当我在购物，或决定如何安排我的时间，选择我的言词，进行财政预算，选择朋友，或决定我在教会的活跃程度，这套内在的价值系统便会被反映出来。我们都是依据这套内在价值系统里的优先次序来作决定的。

在我们今天所读的经文中，耶稣谈及这事，而这也是祂著名的登山宝训的内容之一。在我们的生命当中，有些事情是首要的；有些是次要的；再有一些是不太重要的。当我们把神和祂的生命之道放在我们这份清单的首位时，我们的生活便会成为最美好。

要是我们在未经深思熟虑的情况下建立一套价值系统，是一件危险的事情。虽然这是一套内在的系统，但却对我们的行为有莫大影响，因为我们所有的决定，都是取决于内在的价值观。

你的价值系统，是否与基督的心意相同呢？

祷告

亲爱的主，求祢鉴察我的内心，检视我所采纳的价值观，评估它们，并让我知道我需要作出哪些改变，才能更像祢。奉耶稣的名求，阿们。