“Two things I ask of you; deny them not to me before I die: Remove far from me falsehood and lying; give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me, lest I be full and deny you and say, ‘Who is the LORD?’ or lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of my God.” (Proverbs 30:7-9 ESV).
It took me years to understand that if I was hungry or tired, I wasn’t fun to be around. It was much easier to be patient and gracious with others if I was well-rested and my belly was full. We should like to think that we are better than the needs of our bodies, but God could have made us as wispy spirits, and He didn’t. It would be easier to be ‘spiritual’ if we were nothing but spirit, but evidently there is something good about being able to partake of creation — and furthermore, to depend on it for our health and good humor.
Knowing this, we would not want to be so foolish as to think that we are better than God’s actual plan. Doing so may set us up for bitter disappointment when circumstances force us to realize that God “cannot be mocked.” But perhaps you already know all this.
It nonetheless bears repeating, as there are dark clouds gathering above our nation. We can already feel the trembling of distant thunder. A storm approaches, and we ...
