We are beings of material construction. Flesh, blood, and bone. We breathe in air, feel sensation across our skin, and are crushed with emotion. The things we maintain around us matter, because they define the experience of the moments through which we live.
Do we see beauty through our eyes? We are uplifted with joy. Poverty and death leave us emotionally drained.
Soft fabrics and conditioned air make our days pleasant. Rough cording and the burning sun make for miserable companions.
The reality is that it takes money to make our lives pleasant. Creature comforts don’t come for free. Driving a car that works, with air conditioning, good shocks, and a smooth-running engine comes at a high price.
Yet Paul says in Philippians 4:11:
“Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.”
Is Paul telling us that soft fabrics and a good car are outside the Christian’s sphere of expectation? Is he saying that to truly follow after Christ, we must display an asceticism that eschews any form of comfort or pleasantness?
Let’s look back to how God made us. We are flesh, blood, and bone. We breathe in air, feel sensation across our skin, and are crushed with emotion. The things we maintain around us matter.
Here’s what Paul is really telling us: We can’t define our Christian walk by how much we own. We also can’t define our piety by how much we don’t own. Is the Christian in poverty, the one who loves God anyway, closer to Christ than the Christian with a comfortable home and a good car? Has the affluent Christian lost something in his or her connection to Christ?
Paul says, “…in whatever state I am, therewith [I am] content.”
Perhaps our drive to amass creature comforts comes directly from God. We have a desire to better ourselves, because we are made that way. Maybe, just maybe, the home we live in, the car we drive, and the clothes we wear are choices, not reflections of our Christian condition. We are human, so we strive for beauty. We are flesh, so we desire comfort. We are emotional, so we strive to be fulfilled.
It’s God who made us this way. It’s up to us to be content with our choices in life—for they are our choices—and to allow others to be content with theirs. Beauty uplifts us. Things that work properly make life better. It’s up to us to choose wisely.
If we’re truly wise, we’ll keep our Savior at the top of our list of what matters. Let’s maintain our relationship with him first and foremost, and let the rest of life fall where it may. It’s our choice, after all. We get to choose.
Let’s make Jesus number one on our to-do list for today.
Copyright © 2016 MyChurchNotes.net
Code: FGO.E.12.16b.vp.kjv