“So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Matthew 6: 31-33 (NIV)
God provides Our food, drink, and clothing, i.e., our material necessities. “Your heavenly Father knows that you need them.” This is a given according to Jesus, but how are we to understand his statement?
As we all know, not every individual has sufficient food, drink, clothing, or access to housing, schools, clinics, etc. Material necessities, even though there is plenty to go around for all humankind, are not always available to each person. Not only are many unemployed who would like to make a living, but around the globe humans starve, die from drinking contaminated water, live on the streets, and suffer because basic medical care is not available. But it’s not because there isn’t enough. It’s because opportunity and abundance are not well-distributed.
Humankind faces a distribution problem not of Divine making, one perpetuated by human short-sightedness, selfishness, apathy, greed, stupidity, injustice, in short, sin; one that God seeks to rectify, in part, through the charity and outcry for justice of Jesus’ followers. It was prophets such as Amos who cried out, “Woe to those who oppress the poor and crush the needy!” And it was Jesus who said, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”
Whenever we “seek first God’s kingdom” we do such things as distribute our Heavenly Father’s abundance to all. In this way “all these things will be given to you as well.” God wants all to have enough.
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