12 I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. 13 I can do all things through him who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:12-13 ESV)
We may read through scripture like today’s and while understanding the intent we do not internalize the value. We live in a world of want over need. We spend our days looking for our next exciting chapter or new thing and not realize that we are just living for ourselves. We all fall in this trap from time to time and simply expand the material world we live in. Our spending patterns drive the economy and cause it to fluctuate more than anything else. If we held back just a little, in mass, you would see how quickly prices would fall.
I say all this as one of the many material consumers as well. We forget just how little the disciples had and yet they learned to live with even less many times, often nothing at all. Our missionaries often live at or below the poverty line as well today as we pull funding back because things cost more.
Reflect on: How does our lives reflect our material concerns over our faith in God?
