Christian Living

Balancing our Spiritual and Material Life

by Shiju Vincent
10/13/16
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“Don’t worry about anything, but in all your prayers ask God for what you need, always asking him with a thankful heart. And God’s peace, which is far beyond human understanding, will keep your hearts and minds safe in union with Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6, 7 TEV).

We all have various needs in our day-to-day life. There are spiritual, physical, mental, material, relational, social, financial and more needs. If we are ill, we need a doctor. But not all needs can be met by humans. There are some areas in life where we are prone to get worried simply because we have an impossible yet crucial situation where human expertise can barely help.

There is a serious misunderstanding among many people that God is concerned only with our spiritual life. One more misconception is that Christians ought only to focus on their spiritual lives and never think about their physical and material areas. But what do we read in 3 John 2? It says, “Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.” (NKJV).  Now let me tell my readers frankly that I am not saying that we will prosper in all things and become millionaires. My only idea is that God will multiply the results of your hard work by making it fruitful and productive. True success is not the quantity or measure of what we get, but the completion and fruitfulness of the little things we do using the little resources we have.

I have been given various opportunities to preach the Word of God in our Church meetings. Many times, I have stressed on the importance of giving prime importance to God’s concerns in order that our daily requirements be met by our Lord. The principle is this: Spirituality reigns over materialism. If you grow spiritually each day, every day; you will be filled with a divine peace and godly confidence that God will take care of all your needs.

But this does not mean that we have to just read our Bibles, pray, worship and go to Church and do no material works. As human beings we have various roles and responsibilities in our family, work place, schools or institutions, society and the like. When we are faithful, trustworthy, honest and sincere in these areas, and are growing spiritually, God will take care of the results.

When in this situation of being a responsible person, when we are advancing in spiritual matters, are we able to pray more effectively. God does nothing for the ones who only pray, pray and pray and never use their resources. He helps those who do their best. It is for such people that the Bible says, “Let your requests be made known to God.”

Friends, let us do our best and God will take care of the rest.