I wish to put these things in a more simple and practical way. Look at the situation of today’s human life and society. People all over the world are materialistic. They are busily working to gain material things for a good living. They want to have better food, a better house, a better car, and better clothing. All the time they are seeking for something better. But eventually what they seek for becomes bitter. America today is a materialistic country. The materialistic people are the first category of people we see in today’s society.
Another category of people is composed of those who are trying to be good, to be moral. When people become materialistic, they do not care much for morality. Therefore, generally speaking, materialistic people are not so moral. But today on this earth there are some people who are highly moral.
Then we have a third category of people—the religious people. In Christianity, to be religious is really wonderful; it is to be formal and scriptural. Hence, in a general sense, the religious people are not only better than the materialistic people but also better than the moral people.
The fourth category of people, the highest category, is the spiritual people. To be spiritual is to be in the spirit. Therefore, compared to the previous three categories of people, the spiritual people are really much better.
Now let us ask what kind of people God wants. Of course, God does not want a group of materialistic people. Nor does He want a group of moral or religious people. Furthermore, strictly speaking, God’s intention is not to have a group of so-called spiritual people. God wants a group of people who would return to His dominion.
In Matthew 6:31-33 the Lord said, "Therefore do not be anxious, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, With what shall we be clothed? For all these things the Gentiles are anxiously seeking. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." If you are always thinking about the matters of eating, drinking, and clothing, you are materialistic. The Lord told us to forget about these material things, which the Gentiles seek after all the time. Rather, we should seek first the kingdom of God and the righteousness of God.
We have seen that the kingdom of God is the dominion of God, but what is the righteousness of God? To be righteous is to be right with God and to be right according to what God is. God is love, yet you hate others. This is wrong. Since God is love, you also should love others. This is right. God is faithful, yet you are unfaithful. This is wrong. Since God is faithful, so you also should be faithful. Then you are right. God is honest, yet you are dishonest. This is not right. To be honest is to be right according to what God is. Therefore, we can see that to be righteous simply means to be right according to God, not according to our concept. To be right according to God is to be completely agreeable with God.
The young people should consider what they are seeking today. They should be seeking to be brought back to God’s dominion, God’s ruling. Day by day you should be brought under God’s ruling. Furthermore, while you are seeking God’s kingdom, you should also seek His righteousness. This simply means that you have to return to God’s dominion and to get yourself completely agreeable with God. If we want to be agreeable with God, we need to be born of God. We need to have His life and become His children.
(The Life for the Preaching of the High Gospel, Chapter 2, by Witness Lee)