City Life Starter

Written by Scott Fiddler

The Word

“Woe to you who are full now, for you shall be hungry.”

Luke 6:25a (RSV)

Reflection

After Cindy and I got married we lived in a small apartment on San Felipe street in the Galleria area. We lived there for a few years until we felt we could afford a house.

I remember visiting homes for sale and thinking, “If we could just have a home like this, with all this room inside and a backyard, I will be satisfied.” 

We did buy a house, with a lot more room inside and a nice backyard. It was satisfying for a while. But after a few years we got used to it, and we were looking for something newer, something bigger.

Such is the way with things. Their ability to satiate is limited. Like a good meal, it doesn’t matter how good it is or how much you pay for it, eventually you will get hungry again. The satisfaction provided by material things is temporal and temporary.

Yet, there are some people wealthy enough that whenever they grow tired of their home or their car, they can buy another one to take the edge off their hunger. They can keep the stuff coming fast enough to tamp down the desire for something more before it exposes the material world as inadequate to the task. They can cover their soulful longing for God with enough stuff that their true spiritual need is no longer noticeable. To those Jesus says “Woe.”

The word “Woe” is a strong expression of sadness and warning. Jesus is saying, “If you are able to suppress your hunger for God through material goods and food, I feel sorry for you, and I am warning you there are eternal consequences.” It would be better that they were poor and hungry, without the means to chase such deceitful dreams.

Application

It is no different today. The world is obsessed with making money because people think if they have more money they can buy more stuff, and more stuff will satiate the hunger they have inside.

Most people run out of money before they run out of hunger. They are blessed that they do not have the financial means to fully mask their hunger for God. For them there is a chance they will turn to God. 

Others, however, are wealthy enough to keep their hunger at bay. Theirs is a sad story of successful satiation. We should pray we don’t become one of them.

Prayer

Lord, help me never to try to mask my need for You with material things. Amen.