Worth More than Money – August 3, 2021

Philip answered [Jesus], “It would take more than half a year’s wages to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!”
John 6:7

Worth More than Money

What are your concerns in life? Go ahead, list your top ten. If I were a betting man, I’d bet that somewhere on your list is something to do with money. Oh, I’m not accusing you of having the love of money, which is the root of all evil. I’m not accusing you of poor management of the financial gifts that God has given you. Nor am I accusing you of not being content with those gifts. I’m just acknowledging that money is connected to almost every aspect of our lives and will consistently be on our minds. And if it’s on our minds, it will be one of our concerns.

When Jesus asked Philip where they should get the bread to feed the large crowd that had gathered on the mountainside of Galilee, Philip’s first concern wasn’t where to shop. He wasn’t wondering which market would have enough inventory to feed a sporting arena’s worth of people. He wasn’t wondering how they would transport the food. His first concern was how much will it cost? “It would take more than half a year’s wages to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!” (John 6:7).

Maybe Philip was exaggerating a bit. According to my calculations, in today’s money, it would cost approximately $2,500 to give each person a slice of bread. But if you gave each person a sack lunch consisting of a ham sandwich, bag of chips, and an apple, it would cost $33,000, which happens to be the average cost of a pre-Covid wedding in the United States. How would you like to pay for a wedding on the spot without having time to plan for it?

The point being, we can get caught up in the numbers, just like Philip. Whether it’s the cost of mortgage, groceries, tuition, cars, insurance, vacations, weddings, and more. Life isn’t cheap. But when we’re counting the cost of living, don’t forget that you can count on the One who promised to provide for you. You can count on Christ.

Prayer:
Lord, lead me to trust in you to provide for all my needs. Amen.