19 And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.
Another famous verse that gets pulled out of context! The verse just before this verse talks about the generosity of the believers at Philippi. They have given and given to meet the needs of others. This is a necessary prerequisite to God meeting our needs. We must be willing to meet the needs of others. If we only look at ourselves, then God will have to teach us the lesson that it is not all about us. We are part of His Body. We must be willing to give to meet the needs of other parts of the Body. When we are giving, then God is able to pass wealth through us to meet the needs of others. If the wealth always stops at us, our priorities are messed up and the Lord will help get those priorities in line with His will. He will meet our need when our heart is in the right place. The Philippians knew what it was to give. That meant they had learned the lesson and the Lord was able to meet all their needs. They had learned the difference between want and need. That is a hard lesson. We have been raised in a culture that purposefully blurs that line between need and want. Capitalism is about blurring that line. Capitalism requires that we keep buying new things. The advertising tries to create a need from a want. We get told that we are entitled to something, that it is a right that can’t be denied. We hear it every day in the news. Free healthcare is a right. A job that pays enough for all the luxuries I desire is a right. A retirement income is a right. Equality is a right. I would contend that these are all wants, not needs. Each would be nice to have, but in this sinful world, they will not exist. When someone else pays for your “right” then that is not fair. Each has a responsibility of their own. Paul had learned to be content, even when he did not get some of what we would call essentials in life. Paul had learned contentment. Isn’t it time we learned this lesson too!
The Arnold Journey 