Sharing Enough
Philippians 4:11b-13 I have learned to be content with whatever I have. I know what it is to have little, and I know what it is to have plenty. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being well-fed and of going hungry, of having plenty and of being in need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.
What does “contentment” feel like? This is a difficult question in our current culture. When surveys have asked “How much is enough?” responses have consistently been “Twenty percent more than I have now.” If that is true, how do we break the endless circle that this leads us toward—it is always “twenty percent more.” We are told over
and over every day—“You don’t have enough…What you have is fragile and could be
gone at any moment…You have to go get more!” These messages come from a world
focused on scarcity.
In this setting how do we understand our relationship with God? God is creator—we are
God’s creatures. How do we live in relationship with our creator? Martin Luther reminds
us in his explanation of the First Article of the Apostles’ Creed “that God has created
me and all that exists…God daily and abundantly provides…all the necessities and
nourishment for this body and life…out of pure, fatherly, and divine goodness and
mercy, without any merit or worthiness of mine at all!” It is in this relationship that we
recognize that God has abundantly provided us with all that we need. Living in that
abundance we give of the blessings we have received.
If we focus on the scarcity, we never have enough. When we focus on God’s abundant
blessings, there is more than we can ever imagine. Recognizing God’s abundant
blessings we experience Paul’s message to the Philippians in our own lives. We can be
content with what we have because we know that we are blessed and can “do all
things through him who strengthens us.”
Source: Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Make It Simple
What does “contentment” feel like? This is a difficult question in our current culture. When surveys have asked “How much is enough?” responses have consistently been “Twenty percent more than I have now.” If that is true, how do we break the endless circle that this leads us toward—it is always “twenty percent more.” We are told over
and over every day—“You don’t have enough…What you have is fragile and could be
gone at any moment…You have to go get more!” These messages come from a world
focused on scarcity.
In this setting how do we understand our relationship with God? God is creator—we are
God’s creatures. How do we live in relationship with our creator? Martin Luther reminds
us in his explanation of the First Article of the Apostles’ Creed “that God has created
me and all that exists…God daily and abundantly provides…all the necessities and
nourishment for this body and life…out of pure, fatherly, and divine goodness and
mercy, without any merit or worthiness of mine at all!” It is in this relationship that we
recognize that God has abundantly provided us with all that we need. Living in that
abundance we give of the blessings we have received.
If we focus on the scarcity, we never have enough. When we focus on God’s abundant
blessings, there is more than we can ever imagine. Recognizing God’s abundant
blessings we experience Paul’s message to the Philippians in our own lives. We can be
content with what we have because we know that we are blessed and can “do all
things through him who strengthens us.”
Source: Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Make It Simple
