Book Review: Seek First the Kingdom

Welcome back to my study. I know I said I would do an Orthodox book review at the beginning of each month, but I'm still waiting for an Orthodox publisher to send me the two books I requested, and I felt this book was fitting to review with the Presidential election tomorrow. So the book I chose to review today is called Seek First the Kingdom: Challenging the Culture by: Cardinal Donald Wuerl.



This book was sent to me by the wonderful people at Our Sunday Visitor (OSV) in exchange for an honest review. Most of us Christians view the Kingdom as some lofty ideal that we will never see until we die and reach the pearly gates. While this is the Kingdom of God, Cardinal Wuerl points out that the Kingdom of God is the presence of God. Since God is omnipresent, that means the Kingdom is also here on Earth. Thus, the Kingdom is more than something in our head, the Kingdom is something tangible, we have to embrace and work to bring to other people. This is especially true in the public square and political arena, but it is also true in our own daily lives.

In this book, Cardinal Wuerl draws upon Scripture, tradition, and the teaching of the Magisterium to point out the major issues in our time (abortion, human dignity, etc.) and what we must do to address these issues. While each chapter is brief (generally 10 pages or less), each one is broken down in tiny segments that make each point easier to follow and understand.

My favorite chapter was Chapter 8: Ambassadors for the Kingdom. It underscored the truth that while we are currently living in this land, we are not of this land. Our ultimate and true home is Heaven, but while we are here on Earth, we need to be ambassadors to those who are not Heaven-bound. We are also called to correct those who are in error in love. I personally have no problem correcting others, but don't always do it in love. So that is something I definitely need to work on.

This book for me gets 5 out of 5 stars. While it is certainly a book that is timely given the upcoming election and liberties our country has given up, it is also a timeless book that presents a message that rings true at any point in history. It is also a book I recommend all of you to read, no matter who wins the election.