THINK OF IT AS A RECIPE FOR SUCCESS. All the material goods you need to lead a happy, productive life—food, drink, clothing, housing—will be yours, given only one condition: Your willingness not to focus on obtaining those goods. As Jesus explained it, putting "the kingdom of God, and his righteousness" Matt. 6:33. first in your life will inevitably bring the necessary provisions. But they must not be your primary goal.
Consider the wealthy man who said he wanted to experience God's kingdom, but couldn't bear to give up his many possessions to pursue it. This prompted Jesus to make his famous statement: "How hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God!" Mark 10:24. By contrast, a loyal student who noted that he had given up everything to follow Jesus was assured, "There is no man that hath left house, or parents, or brethren, or wife, or children, for the kingdom of God's sake, who shall not receive manifold more in this present time, and in the world to come life everlasting." Luke 18:29, 30.
So what is this all-important focus—the kingdom of God and His righteousness—that results in manifold blessings? Most scholars agree that Jesus used the phrase "kingdom of God" to mean God's heavenly and eternal rule. The issue of righteousness, however, is a bit more complicated. The original Greek, dikaiosune, means righteousness, justice, the business of a judge. But is it meant to suggest the righteous actions of God, or the righteous actions of people?
