Depending on Jesus or money?

I am sitting here feeling very unsettled by what I have just read (Philippians 4:10-13). I suppose this is not the first time. But nothing ever quite prepares one for an incision that cuts to the point where joint and marrow meet.

Paul is thanking the Philippians for a gift of money that they sent him. But lest they draw the wrong conclusions, Paul qualifies his appreciation with the startling assertion that he could have coped without the money. What a surprise! After all, Paul was in prison, and it is likely that he would have benefitted from supplementary food delivered by someone on the outside. In fact most commentators assume that the Philippians had sent Epaphroditus for this very reason. It is unlikely that Roman prisoners were fed by the State.

So Paul would probably have subsisted on very meagre rations if it had not been for the Philippians’ gift. Surely then, Paul would have needed the gift. It appears not! For Paul made it abundantly clear that his contentment and ability to cope did not depend on the alleviation of physical discomfort. He wrote: “I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want” (v12). The secret was not in money it was in Christ. Christ strengthened Paul so that he could endure suffering (v13).

I have a question. Would you get upset with God if you did not have enough money to avoid hunger? Hunger is not for Christians...is it? Yet Paul had to learn the secret of being content though hungry.

I battle to be content without decent internet access let alone an empty stomach! And to be honest, I depend on the comfort that money affords me. Often, it is money that enables me to cope with life. I do not think I am alone. As rich Christians, we are in danger of assuming that wealth is our divine right and that we have earned it or deserve it. We begin to believe that we cannot do without the comforts - even necessities - that money can buy.

Paul was prepared to embrace depravation for the extension of the gospel. He knew who his real Master was. But do we?

Cheers for now - Ian