Matthew 6:12 “Debtors 3”

 Here’s my fairly literal translation of these verses:

¹²and forgive to us our debts as we also forgive our debtors.

Forgiveness -- again. So far I’ve been pondering the first phrase of this verse: “Forgive us our debts.” Now, let’s turn to the last phrase, “as we forgive our debtors.” As mentioned before, this is an interesting study, just to pause and think about sins as debts. As far as the first phrase, “Forgive us our debts,” it perhaps deepens our understanding of sin when we think of them as the culpable violations of the obedience and honor we owe to our Creator God.

Now we move on to seeing them in light of our debts to one another. I don’t believe I’ve ever given this any thought at all, so it has been a very interesting and enlightening study. First of all, we are in fact talking about sins, not just money we owe each other. That should be obvious, but needs to be said as we would consider the whole matter. So, what do we owe each other?

First and foremost, Jesus taught us we owe each other love. Therefore, to give to another anything less is to have sinned. We are indebted to God to “love our neighbor,” but we do not, either through sins of commission or omission. I’ve certainly done a lot of that in my 68 years of life, but then I’ve also been on the receiving end of a LOT of “unpaid debts” of love. Of course, in my myopic, self-centered world view, the LOT is far greater against me than from me. That is absurd, of course, but my sinful little nefarious heart is still full of pride and “deceitful above all things.” It may be huge in my mind, but the Lord here even infers it is “normal” for children of the Father to “let it go” and forgive all of that.

“As we forgive our debtors.” Again, the assumption of this prayer is that we do. Let’s think about that for a second. First of all, remember this is a child’s prayer to their Father. This world is full of unregenerate people who sadly are “of their father, the devil…and the lusts of their father they will do” – lying and stealing and killing. This prayer is NOT directed at them. Who they are would be obvious except that too many of them sit on the pews of Bible-preaching churches. I would have to say, most of the people I’ve ever attended church with were probably unregenerate. They may have appeared moral and made a good show at church, but there was absolutely not the slightest hint of Jesus in who they were – and in fact it was quite the opposite. Too often, in private and even sometimes in public, they had tongues “set on fire by hell.” We’ve all known them and probably been too often on the receiving end of those tongues.

So, before we talk about whether “forgiveness” is normal or not for Christians, let’s dispel this notion that most of the people who call themselves Christians really are. They are not. Just because someone is a church-goer does not make them a Christian. Real Christians are Jesus people. Although they themselves (like me) still have their issues and struggles, yet there is that sweet, graciousness of Jesus about them.

I’ve known a number of people who really did come to salvation and I saw for myself that instant transformation. Yes, they were new believers, and yes, they had a lifetime of spiritual growth ahead of them, but immediately they became Jesus people. Suddenly there was a sweetness about them, suddenly they really did want to love other people. Suddenly there was a hunger to know God and to know the Bible. As Jesus said, “By their fruits, you shall know them.”

SO…first of all, yes, Jesus can instruct us children of the Father to say, “as we forgive our debtors.”  I may not do it very well, but the fact is, as a real Christian, a real child of the Father, that is my heart’s desire. And that is true of everyone (I hope including you) who has been born again. So, that settled, let’s us born again people, us children of the Father, think more about this business of forgiving our debtors.

Why is it hard to forgive? First of all, let us remind ourselves, when a debt is forgiven, it’s the creditor (in this case us) who loses. It’s the creditor who must “give up” something in order for the debtor to go free. That is difficult, because, in a sense, they really do “owe” us. As we noted above, at minimum, we all (saved and unsaved alike) owe each other love. The problem with that is we’re all sinners and do a terrible job of it, sometimes in ways we find very hurtful. At those times we may find it seemingly impossible to forgive that person.

What to do? One way is to “walk backwards” through Ephesians 4:32. What does that verse say? “And be kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.” Think first about that last phrase, “Even as God in Christ forgave you.” As Romans 5:10 says, “When we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son…” How much sin did Jesus have to pay for to save me? How much have I failed Him even since He saved me? Yet, God forgave (forgives) me. Now, still working backwards through Ephesians 4:32, He asks us to be “forgiving one another.” As I look at that person, can I see that they’re no different than me? I’m no different than them. Yes, perhaps what they did was very, very bad – but sin is still sin. Even if I can say “I’ve never done that,” the fact is I’ve done just as bad (or worse). In the light of Jesus’ forgiveness of me, I realize I’m just as capable of every sin in the book, and I needed Jesus’ forgiveness just as much as them.

Then God asks us to be “tenderhearted.” Hopefully, at this point, we’re already there. Can I actually feel sorry for that person? Sin is a horrible beast, yet it seems to be the very skin we live in – we all live in. It’s awful to be its slave. I myself know its pain, its darkness, its slavery, its hopelessness. Hopefully by this point, we are wishing we could help that person somehow. Hopefully we actually want to be “kind” to them in some way. And hopefully in our Christian heart we’re finding that, “Yes, I can forgive them. In fact, I want to. Jesus died for me and I don’t deserve His forgiveness any more than anyone else, yet He forgives me. I want to do the same.” As Erika Kirk said to the young man who murdered her husband, “I forgive you…that’s what Christ did.”

Finally, let me offer one more observation in all of this which I find enormously helpful. As we noted above, we all really do “owe” each other love. Justice says those who do not have sinned and done wrong. They really do “owe” it to us. So there is this natural and in fact very legitimate sense of justice within us. No wonder it is a struggle. In an ideal world of law and justice, they really have done us “wrong” and should be punished. Yet, is that the world you and I (children of the Father ) live in? No. We live in a world of grace. Based on law and justice, we should be burning in hell. Yet, in Christ, God the Father forgives us and welcomes us into His big loving lap. Do we “owe” Him sinlessness? Yes. Does He require it of us? In Christ, no. He “lets it go.”

Because I myself live in grace, I can look out at my world and be gracious. My love for others is not a matter of law and justice. I can see them through Jesus’ eyes. Because of grace and because of Jesus, I can look at my world and honestly say from my heart, no one owes me anything. I myself deserve hell. Who am I to look around and think I deserve anything from anyone? No. Because of Jesus, my only concern is that I “owe” my world love – and like Jesus, I should give it to them regardless of how well or how badly they treat me. My Father takes care of me. He will make sure I get every little thing I truly need. “He opens His hand and satisfies the desires of every living thing.” So I depend on Him, not others, to make sure I get “what I need.” My job is to give love. Whether I receive it is up to Him.

No one owes me anything. I’m the debtor. What this verse has taught me is to try and look out at my world through those eyes. Then, what does it matter really what others do to me? “You meant it for evil, but God meant it for good.” “Jesus was a man, ordained by God, who went about doing good.” Like Charlie Kirk and Stephen before him, they killed him for it – while He only did them good. “It is enough for a disciple to be like his Master.” What does the Lord tell us? “Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children, and live a life of love…” (Eph.5:1,2).

No one owes me anything. If I can keep that in my head, what does it really matter what they do or don’t do to me? I want to just go on being like my Savior – loving a world that may or may not love me, “forgiving my debtors.” “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

Lord, help us to so fill our hearts with You, that we can look out and see our world through Your loving eyes. May us children live the grace You’ve already showered on us, and may we truly find, as we bring our failures to our God, it really is true we’re living a life of “forgiving our debtors.” Jesus, make us like You, and change a world because of it!

Matthew 6:12 “Debtors 2”

Here’s my fairly literal translation of these verses:

¹²and forgive to us our debts as we also forgive our debtors.

Forgiveness. As I savored in my last post, forgiveness is a wonderful thing. “The wages of sin is death.” Sin is an infinite offense because the God we offend and His justice are infinite. That infinite debt of death we owe because of our sins we cannot pay. We’ll praise Jesus through all eternity that He “paid it all!” “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because You were slain, and with Your blood You purchased us for God from every tribe and language and people and nation!” (Rev. 5:9).

As wonderful as that is, yet here we are still asking the Lord to “forgive us our debts.” Jesus “paid it all.” Why then are we still asking forgiveness? It is because Jesus not only paid for our sins, but His death granted us another wonderful gift. We acknowledge it in the very opening words of the Lord’s Prayer: “Our Father…”

Our Father. Our sin debt had to be paid before God the eternal Judge. Now we call Him “Father!” Without Jesus, our sins were a judicial matter. It was all about broken laws and guilt and penalties, about a Great White Throne and a Judge and the justice He must execute. Now, suddenly we call Him Father. For those who have accepted Jesus’ salvation, this whole business of our sins is no longer judicial. It is now familial. It’s family business.

It is monumentally important that you and I understand this wondrous transformation. Those very first words remind us that our lives are now a family business. When we approach the Lord, Jesus Himself would remind us we are addressing our Father. “For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption. And by Him we cry, ‘Abba, Father!’ The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are the children of God” (Rom. 8:15,16).

May I insert here that it took me over thirty years to understand this?  And if I could, may I say I fear few Christians I’ve ever known understand it. I fear that most of us should actually begin our prayers with “Your Honor…” Almost everything you hear about forgiveness and the way people talk about it, they’re still seeing God as their Judge. No! Jesus says to come to Him very deliberately seeing Him as our Father.

What is the difference? A judge cannot allow his own emotions or attachments to impact his responsibility to mete out justice. The accused are either guilty or not guilty. If they’re guilty, he must execute justice or be an unjust judge. Even if the accused was his own child, justice still must be served. With a father, it is (or should be) all about love, not justice. A father (or mother) can never stop seeking the welfare of their child.

For example, when it comes to money and the possibility I might “cheat” someone, it is easy for me to say, “That isn’t even possible. I fear God. I don’t want to have to explain to Him why someone else’s money is in my account.” Many would hear me say that and think I’m afraid of God’s judgment. That actually isn’t strictly true. What I mean is, “My Father loves me way too much to let me get away with cheating other people. I am quite sure, if I do, He will soon have me over His knee – and I don’t like His spankings!” It is also true that I love Him and don’t want to be doing things I know displease Him. I enjoy sitting in His lap with His big arms around me. The Lord’s spankings aren’t a matter of justice or an angry judge. They’re about a Father who loves me, who cares who I am and what I’m becoming.

Although I don’t think I understood this in my relationship with God, yet with my own children, I remember living under the constant awareness it was my responsibility to guide who they became. Their mother and I often reminded each other that each child would one day be 18 and walk out of our house. When they did, they’d better be ready to live in a real world. They’d better be ready to work (hard). They’d better be ready to be honest, dependable, kind, respectful of authority, …all the things we must be in order to “get along” in this world. Even when they needed correction (lest they learn bad habits), I can honestly say there was never one second when I didn’t love them. Their corrections weren't given as an angry judge, but rather as a father who loved them too much to let them get away with behaviors I knew would wreck their lives.

I may have been wrong (and often was). There may be things I wish I had done (but didn’t), and things I wish I hadn’t done (but did), but I can at least say before God that I was sincerely trying to love them. Although I may not have understood it exactly in my relationship with God, yet I did understand it in relation to my own children. Even their “sins” and even if those “sins” were directed at me personally (like sassing), the issue was never justice, but rather love for them and concern for who they’d become.

Let us all be reminded, when we pray, Jesus says to approach God as “Our Father.” Even when we’re praying “Forgive us our debts,” let us remember we’re dealing with our Father, not our Judge. Our prayers are family business – they’re all about a relationship between us and a Heavenly Father who loves us, who will never “leave us nor forsake us,” and who is absolutely committed to our best eternal welfare. Confession of sin is not about paying a debt or getting out of jail. It’s about treasuring a relationship – with our Father!

Matthew 6:12 “Debtors”

Here’s my fairly literal translation of these verses:

¹²and forgive to us our debts as we also forgive our debtors.

This is an interesting study – to think about sins as “debts.” In Luke’s version in 11:4, our sins are actually called “sins,” while what others have done to us are still called “debts.” More on that later.

Debts. What is a debt? It is something owed. In our world, there is a creditor and there is a debtor. Basically, debts must be repaid. The matter is so serious there used to be “debtors’ prisons,” where people were sent to “work off” their unpaid debts. If a debt isn’t repaid, who loses? The creditor, of course. In our world today, if a debt cannot be repaid, a person can declare bankruptcy, but, other than that the only hope would be for the creditor to willingly “forgive” the debt. Having said that, however, let us be reminded that, in so doing, it is still true the creditor is the loser. Financially speaking, forgiving debts is a wonderful thing for debtors, but for creditors it is a losing business.

As we turn our hearts toward God, it’s not hard to see that our sins are each and every one a debt. We, the created, owe to God the Creator our obedience and our worship. When we fail to give to Him those things, we have sinned. We “owe” Him for those sins. And what is the punishment for sin? “In the day you eat thereof, you shall surely die.” “The wages of sin is death.” The problem, which we fail to consider, is that we are sinning against and offending an infinite God – which means what we “owe” is an infinite price. We’re in BIG trouble. God is just. How long would it take us to pay an infinite debt? How long must we “die?” Infinity. Forever. Hell is no “purgatory.” It is forever. We cannot repay our debt to Him.

Our only hope is that somehow, someway He would forgive our debt. However, in this case, that is theologically impossible. God is just. He must punish sin, since He said He would. His justice demands payment. In order for Him to simply “forgive” our debt, He would have to lose His justice – but He cannot do that. The price must be paid. There must be an infinite death for God to “balance” His books.

Who can pay an infinite price, die an infinite death and yet be able to say, “Paid in full?” Only God Himself! The wonder of grace is He did exactly that. “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God…and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth…and grace and truth came through Jesus Christ” (John 1:1,14,17). Jesus went to the Cross for us and what were His last words? “It is finished!” What was finished? Our sin debt was paid. Someone paid it for us.

Oh, yes. Above I said our only hope as debtors is for the creditor to forgive our debt. I forgot one other option – when another person steps forward and says, “I’ll pay that for them.” Why would anyone ever do that? Instead of the creditor, now it’s that person who is the loser. Why would anyone willingly be a loser? Love, of course. Any of us who are parents know that feeling. How many times have we each stepped in and said to one of our children, “Don’t worry. I’ll pay for that”? Why did we do it? Love. We made ourselves “losers” and never regretted it for one second, and why? Love.

Isn’t it, in a way, a strange feeling to lose, to willingly make ourselves “losers,” and yet feel happy we did? Once, one of our adult children went to move out of an apartment, only to be told they owed $1,000.00. At that time, they were penniless and called us distraught at what to do. Although we weren’t rich either, it was wonderful to be able to say to them, “Don’t worry. We’ll take care of it.” It cost us $1,000.00 we probably could barely spare, but we didn’t care. It was for a person precious to us. We were actually glad to be “losers.” The truth is, we didn’t “lose” at all. We just exchanged money for love – and that is an exchange that pays a lifetime of dividends!

So with Jesus. He emptied Himself. He made Himself a servant. He prayed, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do,” then made it possible for God the Father to answer His prayer because He said, “I’ll pay that.” And why did He do it? The book of Hebrews says He did it for “the joy that was set before Him.” He did it for love. Love for you and love for me. Paul exemplified that when he told Philemon, concerning Onesimus, “If he has done you any wrong or owes you anything, charge it to me.” Paul learned it from Jesus.

Now, when we said to our child, “Don’t worry, we’ll take care of that,” they could have said, “No. I won’t let you,” and gone on in the misery of their unpaid indebtedness. Back in John, it says, “He came unto His own, but His own received Him not…yet to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God” (1:11,12).

The wonder of His grace is that “Jesus paid it all.” However, you and I are left with the choice to accept His offer or not. Whether we like it or not, we are all debtors before God, owing a price we cannot repay. And what does the Bible tell us? Why did God the Father willingly give His Son to pay our debt? “He did it to demonstrate His justice at the present time, so as to be just and the Justifier of those who have faith in Jesus” (Rom. 3:26).

In this world, it is an awful thing to be indebted for a price we cannot repay. In God’s world, the good news is the price is already paid. We only need say, “Thank you” and accept His wonderful kindness in Jesus.

You and I don’t need to be debtors!!

Matthew 6:11 “Bread 3”

Here’s my fairly literal translation of these verses:

¹¹Give to us today our daily bread.

In the last post, we looked at how no request or concern is too small for prayer. My next observation, in a way, grows out of all of that. Psalm 145:15,16 says, “The eyes of all look to you, O Lord, and you give them their food at the proper time. You open Your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing.” 

Food. Eating. We humans spend a great deal of our time and energy making sure we have food. Today, groceries take up a significant chunk of our income, especially if you add that it’s not only the groceries themselves, but we need a refrigerator/freezer to keep them in, a stove to cook them on, all the plates and silverware and such, and then we have the time it takes to cook it, serve it, eat it, and clean up afterwards. Consider how it wasn’t that long ago, people lived on farms where most of their day was spent growing their crops, caring for the livestock (much of which would later appear on their dinner table), gardening and canning, etc. Today there is a restaurant on every corner, it would seem, and their parking lots are often full, but then “eating out” certainly isn’t cheap, so we’re back to hours working just to be able to pay for it all.

So, we have to work a LOT at this simple, basic business of eating. To us, it appears it is entirely our doing. We must do the work and then we will be able to eat. Yet, what is the prayer we’re considering? “Give us this day our daily bread.” Notice the “Give.” Combine that with the words of Psalm 145 noted above, and here we are again with this business of faith and sight. By sight, it appears to be completely up to us whether we eat or starve. Yet, what are we being told to see by faith? In spite of what we think we see, even a slice of bread is a gift from God! 

While an unbeliever thinks it’s all on them, what does faith remind us? Who gave you the very breath to work at all? Who makes crops to grow or not? Who protects those crops and livestock all the way to our dinner table? I don’t think it’s any mistake that the old farm families were people of deep faith – they lived (and worried their heads off) in the realization that they could only plant the seeds. Whether or not there would be a crop was completely dependent on God Himself! They were very aware they could not make it rain or the sun to shine. They were terribly vulnerable to insects, weeds, storms and seemingly a thousand other threats that could mean starvation for them the next winter. They lived in the constant realization they need God.

Perhaps it was easier for them to see it, yet it is true for them and us both that we are totally dependent on the Lord even for the food on our tables. Even the simple word “Give” is for us a grace word. By faith, we can see, if He does not “give” us our food, we’ll not have it! “He opens His hand and satisfies the desires of every living thing.”

When we pray, “Give us this day our daily bread,” we are acknowledging, by faith, our utter dependence on God even for the food we eat. It is good for this man to sit here and let these thoughts swirl in his head. I want to remember this all day every day. I want to be totally dependent on the Lord for even my food, in spite of the fact that it may look like “it’s all up to me.” It reminds me I am not alone. I am a man with a God. All of life is about this constant companionship. Without Him “I can do nothing,” yet He calls me to work, even for the food I eat. He says to the world, “If a man will not work, neither shall he eat” (II Thes. 3:10). And still, as it says in Psalm 145, “the eyes of all wait upon You, O Lord, and You give them their food at the proper time.”

I admit I’m just rambling now, but I really do want these truths to sink deeply into my heart. I must work (a lot) for my food, yet still it is a grace gift from my God that I can eat at all. I owe Him humble thanks for every morsel that passes through my teeth. As I sit here pondering, I’m reminded, as it is always true, that my “work” is actually a privilege. The Lord could leave me lying in my recliner and just drop food in my mouth. Yet from the very Garden of Eden (even before sin), the Lord in His wisdom and kindness put man there “to keep it and to till it.” He called us to work for that which was, in reality, a grace gift straight from His hand. He rained down manna for the Israelites to eat, yet they had to go out every morning and gather it. He could have just dropped it in their pots.

I’m reminded once again that it is actually an enormous dignity for us humans that He does not just “drop it in our mouths,” but instead calls us to work for that which He gives us. Back to our companionship with Him. He’s so kind, He allows us to be a part just like the rest of our lives and everything we do.

The only thing He must do alone is to save us. “For by grace are you saved, through faith, and it is not of yourselves, it is a gift of God, not by works…” (Eph. 2:8). Yet even that glorious passage goes on to say of those He has saved by grace, that we are “created in Christ Jesus to do good works…” (v.10). I guess we can say the plan always is that He wants us to work as much as we can, but He does for us that which we cannot. In salvation, He must do it all. In the rest of life, He calls us to this “God and me” companionship.

I know, especially at work, it is an enormous comfort for me to remember that. There is so much that needs to be done. Yet, while I can meet with people, discuss projects, do the calculations, design even entire water and wastewater plants, yet I can’t make the money appear to pay for them. I can’t make deliveries show up on time or equipment show up without serious defects. I can’t control the weather. I often have no control over whether other people do their part. I cannot ultimately control whether any project gets done on time, in budget, and is well built and a good solution. I can only “do my part.” As Daniel told us all, “Wisdom and power belong to God.” It is a great peace to know I am not alone, that I am a man with a God.

This simple little prayer, “Give us this day our daily bread,” reminds me all of this is true, even for the very bread I eat.

I want to be reminded of this every time I eat – every time I put food in my mouth, even as I’m “working” to even make it possible. It’s God and me. He is very present. We work together. He doesn’t need me, but I desperately need Him. He allows me to join Him and grants me the dignity to “do my part.”

What a good, kind, and wise God He is! “Give us this day our daily bread.”

 

Matthew 6:11 “Bread 2”

 Here’s my fairly literal translation of these verses:

¹¹Give to us today our daily bread.

As I said in my last post, I fear this simple little verse is so pregnant with truth, I doubt if I can do it justice, but I will try. Over the years, too many times, I have heard people say things like, “You shouldn’t bother God with “little” things, that you should only pray about “important” things. That sentiment has always horrified me. Life is mostly made up of “little” things. If we shouldn’t pray about those things, to me we might as well cut off the arms and legs of our prayers.

For anyone subscribing to that opinion, what will you do with this line of the Lord’s Prayer? “Give us this day our daily bread.” Bread. How much simpler can that get? No, no, no, and a thousand times no. Who ever told their two-year old not to bother them with “little” things? All they know is “little” things. They ask for silly things and does that bother us? “Of course not,” you say. “I just love to hear their little voice!” And do you think God our Father is any different?

Proverbs 15:8 says, “…the prayer of the upright is His delight.” Elsewhere, the Bible tells us our prayers are like incense to the Lord. Later in the Sermon on the Mount (ch. 7), Jesus Himself compares prayer to a child asking his father for bread or a fish. In Luke’s version, the child asks for an egg. Does Jesus say, “They’re so foolish! They shouldn’t bother their father about such simple things!” No, and rather what does He say? “If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask Him?”

Simple things. Based on the words of the Lord Himself, let us all be encouraged that no request, no problem, no question is too “small” for prayer. Instead, He says, “…in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God” (Phil. 4:6). 

Pray on, my friends! Give Him your squeaky little voice and tell Him anything and everything that crosses your mind. Remember, your prayers are His delight. He’s your heavenly Father. 

"Give us this day our daily bread." 

Pray on, my friends!

Matthew 6:11 “Bread”

 Here’s my fairly literal translation of these verses:

¹¹Give to us today our daily bread.

When I first embarked on studying this verse, I didn’t think there would be much to find in such a simple request. However, now I fear it is so pregnant with truth, I doubt if I can do it justice. I will try. One of the best commentators on these verses is Matthew Henry. He obviously thought deeply about the verse and had lived it.

Where do we begin? Jesus has just taught us in vv. 9,10 to acknowledge God as our Father, to pray for Him to be glorified, and to express our submission to His rule. Having said that, what will come next? You would think we’d go straight to “forgive us our debts…” However, where does He go? “Give us this day our daily bread.” He teaches us, after attributing glory to God, to ask Him for bread. This simple truth leads in about a million directions. I’ll try to express at least the most important lessons I think I’m seeing.

I fear that our natural understanding of faith is an example of where the Lord says, “My thoughts are not your thoughts.” And that is precisely why we must study the Bible. It alone teaches us how to see our lives through the Lord’s eyes. Our natural understanding of life and faith is that our basic needs “don’t count.” In other words, we think all that matters, really, is the spiritual issues in our lives and in our world. Our very basic needs are a sort of a natural evil that “take up time and only get in the way of what really matters.”

I once heard a pastor say from the pulpit, “Your job is just the way you make money.” What he was saying was that people’s jobs are no more than a necessary evil that they should dispense with, then get on to the “important” things – especially showing up at the church building to report for duty. If jobs are so unimportant, I wonder why the Lord Himself says they are the one place where we can “adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in all things?" (Titus 2:9,10). Adorn.

That pastor was reflecting what I believe is perhaps a very subtle error that weaves its way through modern Christianity. It is actually a form of asceticism – despising and minimizing the importance of our basic needs, supposedly to allow us to focus on what “really matters."

How does all of that square with this simple request, taught us by the very mouth of Jesus? “Give us this day our daily bread.” As usual, the Lord is way smarter than us and doesn’t have His head filled with illogical and frankly stupid ideas. He knows that when He formed Adam, He “formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and he became a living soul” (Gen. 2:7). God gave Adam a body and breathed into him a spirit. Adam had a body. Within that body, God placed his spirit, but it was, in fact, in a body.

The fact is, in order to exist in this world, you and I have to live in a body. What happens when this body dies? Our spirit leaves this world and goes to be with the Lord (II Corin. 5:8). That means our opportunity to do good in this world is over. Done. Past tense. We humans must live in bodies in order to even have spiritual influence in this world.  If I don’t have a body here, I can’t do anyone any good. If I want to do good, I need to keep this body as healthy as I can.

“Give us this day our daily bread.” If I don’t eat, I will eventually die. In the meantime, I think we all know how hard it is to concentrate, to do anything at all, when I’m hungry. I need to eat. Is that “unspiritual?” Is it a “necessary evil” to be dispensed with as quickly as possible so we can get on with the “important” stuff? Or would the Lord have us to acknowledge the importance of this body He gave us, keep it as well fed and healthy as we can, and see all of that as part of the life we live before Him? He says to pray about it.

And note again the order. After teaching us to pray about God’s glory, His very next line is “Give us this day our daily bread.” Even before we address the issue of our sins (“debts”), He addresses our most basic physical needs. So then, how should you and I think about those “physical needs?” Are they important or not? Are they just “necessary evils?” Does God care about them? Should we?

For me personally, I remember when I first became a Christian. I was a runner. Immediately, I had to address whether that was a good thing or not. I remember feeling it was not, that I should rather be spending my time doing “spiritual” things. Running takes time. As I thought about it, I realized that it makes me much healthier. I realized, if I want to do any good in this world, I need to be as healthy as I can. I realized, to whatever extent I was not healthy, I couldn’t do anyone any good. I of course had no Bible to back that up at the time. It just made sense to me. So I kept running.

The result is that now, nearly fifty years later, I’m not overweight. I basically have no major physical conditions. At 68 years old, I am still working full time. One of my delights has been our interns at work. I love young people and am very glad to still be able to interact with them. Hopefully I’m able to be a positive presence in their lives. Looking back over the years, running has given me the opportunity to spend a great deal of time with all three of my children, as they wanted to run also. In addition, I have been able to spend time with other men, running together (and discussing God, the universe, and other subjects!). Even with the ladies, just the fact that I was a runner gave me a common interest with them and often has given me a subject to discuss with them and hopefully establish a relationship.

Obviously, not everyone can be a runner. My point is simply that I can clearly see the advantages I have gained by trying (my best) to be healthy. It was not “a waste of time.” It was not a “necessary evil.” To be as healthy as I could be has afforded me many opportunities to build relationships and to hopefully see the Lord use those relationships in some way to do them good, to draw them to Himself.

“Give us this day our daily bread.”

Bread.

A basic need.

What does our Lord think about that? What should we?