Seek First the Kingdom of God

Jesus continues to teach the Nephites. He teaches them to serve, pray, and fast in secret, not to be seen of men, and He teaches them to pray sincerely.

Then he started talking about worldly things, and how you can't serve two masters. You can't serve and pursue God and worldly wealth at the same time.

So are servants of God always going to be destitute then? No. In fact, it kind of seems like the opposite is true. Many of our prophets and apostles were successful and even wealthy before they were called to that holy calling. So how did that happen, if they weren't "serving Mammon"? Christ describes it perfectly:

"But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you." (3 Nephi 13:33)

It's not that we can't seek for riches or wealth. It's about priorities. Which one do we seek first? Which one would we sacrifice for the other? 

The problem comes when we seek for riches so much that it leads us away from the kingdom of God. We might do this by working on the Sabbath, or working so much we "don't have time" to serve in other ways. We might even find ourselves not being honest in order to get gain. The apostle Paul spoke about this:

"For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith" (1 Timothy 6:10)

This is often misquoted as 'money is the root of all evil', which is just not the case. It's the love of money, as Paul says, that leads to evil.

On the other side of the coin, if our love is with God, all our actions will lead ourselves and others to Him. If our prove our desire is to serve God, He knows if He blesses us with money, we will use it to further His work. This, I think, is the key.

I hope to be firmly in the camp of first seeking the kingdom of God and His righteousness. After that, whatever happens will happen.