The Last Word
Dealing
Our Bread
By Esther McDaniel
It was such a privilege for me to visit
east Africa on two occasions and it is an
equal privilege to escort Pastor Maurice
in his visit over the United States. By the
time he returns home, he will have a
fairly good idea of how Americans live.
Still, as I read his impressions thus far in
his journey, I couldn’t help but realize
that he is seeing America through
“rose-colored glasses.” Hopefully, be-
fore his return to his country, he will see
a bit of “back-country” America—far
away from Interstate highways and
Super Wal-Mart stores.
Why, I ask myself, is there so much
inequality in this world created by God?
Why do the rich seem to get richer and
the poor get poorer? God tells us that in
His eyes we are all equal: “There is nei-
ther Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond
nor free, there is neither male nor female:
for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.”
Galatians 3:28. Then why doesn’t God
treat all His children alike? Why must
some toil long hours at hard labor just to
earn enough to feed their families while
others wonder what to do with all the ex-
cess in their lives and in their homes?
I certainly don’t have a complete an-
swer to that question but of one thing I am
sure: it does not matter whether one’s cul-
tural experiences are those of excess and
luxury or of poverty and want, Satan is
there to tempt and discourage each one
who will allow him to do so.
A favorite passage of mine is found
in Proverbs chapter thirty, verses eight
and nine: “… give me neither poverty
nor riches; feed me with food conve-
nient for me: Lest I be full, and deny
thee, and say, Who is the LORD? or lest
I be poor, and steal, and take the name of
my God in vain.”
It does not matter which side of the
fence I am on, Satan has a temptation tai-
lor-made for me. I can covet things that
are not mine out of want, or I can covet
them out of greed; it is all the same sin.
“Wherefore do ye spend money for
that which is not bread? and your labour
for that which satisfieth not? hearken
diligently unto me, and eat ye that
which is good, and let your soul delight
itself in fatness.” Isaiah 55:2.
Only God can show each of us, in-
dividually, what that verse means. What
is “bread” for you? for me? What is the
“good” that I should “eat”? If we would
follow this admonition to spend money
for bread only (whatever God shows us
that is), perhaps there would be enough
bread to go around.
All of God’s children are of equal
value to Him and He is working to reach
each individual wherever he or she is.
Christ, the Bread of Life, understood that
when someone is in dire physical need
it’s difficult for him or her to focus on
spiritual needs. As we become more like
Christ, we will seek to remove physical
roadblocks to spiritual grow in others as
we deal our bread to the hungry in both a
physical and a spiritual sense.
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