Daily Bread

1 Timothy 6:8 "And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content."

Paul writes the letter of 1 Timothy to give pastoral care and guidance to his young protege with special attention given to dealing with false teachers. Timothy was the pastor of the church of Ephesus at the time of this writing. Paul warns Timothy to look out for teachers that would want to use the new faith of the believers to gain financially. This is no new concept to the people in Ephesus. In the book of Acts we encounter the story of the revolt of the silversmiths of the temple of Diana. These craftsmen would make little idols of Diana and sell them to her followers. The worship of Diana involved a sophisticated system of profit for he entire city and many figured out how to make a living off of the beliefs of others. Just like the corrupt Temple priests in Jerusalem, the religious leaders had found ways to fleece their sheep. Paul was well aware of this and gives Timothy a warning not to get tangled up in this web of profiteering, but rather live his life in the godly pursuit of heavenly treasures. In this, he should display an attitude of contentment with just the basic necessities of life.
It is our human nature to get stuff and accumulate a trove of earthly possessions. The more the better. And it always has to be the latest and greatest. There is in us an appetite for the niceties of life. It makes us feel comfortable and safe. We have a sense of achievement and productivity if we are able to treat ourselves to all the little pleasant extras in life. The problem is that this emotional high that we get from our possessions does not last long and before we know it, we are not satisfied with what we have anymore. Like a drug addiction, our flesh is looking for the next high and we get consumed with the need to fulfill our ever growing desires with more and more its drug of choice. In order to keep up with the expectations and maintain an acceptable lifestyle, we become more and more enslaved to the desire for material wealth. We become a prisoner of our own flesh.
Jesus warned us about this danger. In the 6th chapter of Matthew He teaches on the subject of keeping our fleshly desires in check by focusing on God first and not worry about any of the material needs. He assures us that our Father will take care of us and meet all of our daily needs. Jesus does not want us in bondage to our desires. He wants us truly free from all the cares of the world, so that we can be used for Kingdom matters here on earth. When asked how to pray to the Father about our need for the day, He tells us to ask God to "give us this day our daily bread." Paul tells Timothy to be content with food and clothing and Jesus even takes it down another notch by simply asking for our food for the day. What a contrast to the natural man and his drivenness for self-preservation. To trust in God for all of our needs, every day, and to focus only on the heavenly task of being witnesses and making disciples in all the earth truly takes faith from above. We can only achieve this with the help of the Holy Spirit in us.

Application
I pray that I can be set free from the desire for material possessions in my life and, like Paul, can be content with what God gives me every day. Therefore, today I will search my heart and take an honest assessment of what desires I need to give up to the Lord. I will meditate on Matthew 6 throughout the day.