Our faithfulness really matters a lot. Putting trust in ourselves rather than God creates more trouble.
Jim
on July 5, 2016 at 1:33 PM
Erroneous “Christian” tradition interprets “Be content” to mean that a true Christian should settle for current conditions, be those conditions undesirable, even desirable, or anywhere between those two. Paul is not saying that, though. Rather, he is stating that he has learned how to be complete in the midst of all circumstances; his circumstances do not have to change for him to be at peace because Christ provides him with all that he needs to be at peace. In other words, Paul had learned to make having only a peanut butter sandwich to eat seem as complete as having an enviably diverse banquet before him. To this day, inspite of wonderful observations concerning investing, saving, and being generous, the terrible idea that most Christians hold remains nonetheless: If you have little, be satisfied with little; don’t try to acquire more, because having little means that you are a “good Christian”. I am thankful for the Christians who are so financially ambitious that they donate hundreds of millions of dollars to feed the hungry, build hospitals, and so on.
Our faithfulness really matters a lot. Putting trust in ourselves rather than God creates more trouble.
Erroneous “Christian” tradition interprets “Be content” to mean that a true Christian should settle for current conditions, be those conditions undesirable, even desirable, or anywhere between those two. Paul is not saying that, though. Rather, he is stating that he has learned how to be complete in the midst of all circumstances; his circumstances do not have to change for him to be at peace because Christ provides him with all that he needs to be at peace. In other words, Paul had learned to make having only a peanut butter sandwich to eat seem as complete as having an enviably diverse banquet before him. To this day, inspite of wonderful observations concerning investing, saving, and being generous, the terrible idea that most Christians hold remains nonetheless: If you have little, be satisfied with little; don’t try to acquire more, because having little means that you are a “good Christian”. I am thankful for the Christians who are so financially ambitious that they donate hundreds of millions of dollars to feed the hungry, build hospitals, and so on.