"Give us this day our daily bread..."

       Why pray for just barely enough to last the day? Why not pray for enough food to last a lifetime? What about security, comfort in our old age? Is it contrary to God’s will to be "survivalist" in our outlook; to store foods, emergency supplies, batteries, gasoline, water; to look out for ourselves so far as the future is concerned? Did Jesus really mean what He said about praying only that we receive, each day, enough for our daily needs?

        Christ emphasized the importance of relative values. There is quite a contrast between those who have settled the big questions first, such as repentance, conversion, baptism—surrendering their will to God and making His kingdom their primary goal in life—and those who never truly get around to asking the big questions in the first place.

        Christ knew most are concerned about purely material goals. He said, "No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other: or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon" (Matthew 6:24).

        Mammon is an Aramaic word, meaning "riches."

        Jesus Christ knew human nature right down to the core. He understood perfectly the driving forces which Motivate most men: vanity, jealousy, lust, greed, vengeance; the purely materialistic goals which most strive to achieve. It was the abandonment of these false goals Christ urged; the acceptance of His example, teaching, and His sacrifice for our sins. Christ is not urging poverty. He is not saying it is a sin to be materially comfortable. God is not especially attracted to the poor over the rich; it is the other way around. The wealthy rarely have time or need for God; the poor recognize their need.

       Is it God's will that His people be poor? No, Christ said, "I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly" (John 10: 10). Many of the most famous men in the Bible were wealthy. Abraham was the owner of thousands of head of cattle and sheep. His household numbered many servants. Likewise, Isaac and Jacob, who inherited much of their wealth from their parent, and continued to prosper. David was king of Israel and Judah, lived in a palace for a fair part of his life; yet was a "man after God's own heart," because he never coveted wealth. He had not obtained the throne through political machinations, but was appointed by God because of his qualities of character.

        God says, "A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children's children... " (Proverbs 13:22). Not only does God expect His people to prosper, He expects them to build a significant enough estate that they leave an inheritance to their grandchildren.

        The apostle John wrote to Gaius, a generous, apparently well-to-do member of the church, "Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth" (III John 2).

        God is the owner of all wealth: "The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the Eternal of hosts" (Haggai 2:8). God is our multitrillionaire heavenly Father who owns the universe. He has set down principles, which, if they were industriously followed, would result in material success as well as moral and spiritual well-being. With God it is a matter of priorities. Which comes first: material gain, success in business, money, or God's Kingdom?

        I knew a multi-millionaire who had all the things money can buy: mansions, limousines, fabulous art collections. He made his money in mining, then branched out into the stock market and real estate. By the time of his death in the 1950's, he was reputedly worth over 200 million dollars. I saw him from time to time in the last years before his death—lonely, reclusive, miserable. His only son had killed himself during a lawsuit between father and son over money. His wife had died several years earlier. During his last years, he was seen going into pawn shops, bargain basements, run down stores in the skid row section of Los Angeles, purchasing various things at random—old shoes, lamps, objects which he didn't need, and couldn't use. When he died, a lonely old man, his home was auctioned by the managers of the estate for less money than it had cost to build the iron grillwork fence and stone walls around it.

        I knew some students who he hired to maintain his considerable grounds. Yet, even though they were only being paid $1.75 per hour, he refused to pay them after a week's work for some petty complaint or other. When the mansion in which he lived was renovated in later years, it was discovered there was a huge tank in a basement room adjacent to an indoor swimming pool, and that the tank had been tapped directly into the city's main water supply. He had received millions of gallons of unmetered city water over fifty years. He had money, the trappings of material success. But, like so many others, this was never enough. He could neither buy nor steal what he coveted the most: happiness. Contentment, fulfillment, satisfaction, these were denied him.

        J. Paul Getty, one of the richest men in the world, was once quoted as saying he would give all his millions for just "one happy marriage. " Like many of the very wealthy, he discovered true friends are hard to find. Unfortunately, the wealthy must forever remain suspicious of the true motives of friends.

        Yet, despite the countless examples of wealth coupled with misery, no matter how thoroughly documented, those lacking wealth cheerfully quip, "So let me be miserable in style!" It is impossible to convince those who have never possessed much money that it can be a powerful evil. They simply believe they know better. The lust for money is condemned in the Bible, and called a "root of all evils. " With this lust for money comes every assorted form of crime and violence known to man. It is the subject of countless novels, motion pictures, television shows. Those who write for the public know money, power, sex are what sells.

        The most common form of idolatry in modem professing Christiandom is the lust for money. Sometimes, it seems money is the main thing on many television evangelist's minds, much to the discomfort of many of their viewers. Personally, I have refused to follow the common tactics of fund-raising used by most; in more than thirty one years of radio and television evangelism, I have never asked for one cent over the air, in any personal-appearance campaigns, or even in our own church services. I sincerely feel the Gospel simply cannot be for sale. Yet, I recognize the right of others to ask. The desire for money, power, fame, importance, can become a powerful temptation. It is a subtle idolatry, not remotely realized by millions of churchgoers who would be shocked if Christ Himself were to point out their improper priorities.

        A false god is whatever gets between you and the true God . What drives you? What motivates you? What really turns you on? The tables at Atlantic City and Las Vegas are garrulous testimony to the "get rich quick" philosophy of millions. Casino operators know as well as clergymen that gambling can become compulsive—a powerful lust that is as pervasive, as tenacious as drugs or alcoholism. Many a business has been destroyed, families broken, reputations sullied by inveterate gambling. Millions look for the fabled pot of gold at the end of the rainbow—that's why many states have turned to lotteries in a desperate bid for infusing new life into sagging state economies.

        Remember the account of the black janitor in New York who found the sack of money that had tumbled out the back of a Brink's truck? An honest man, he immediately returned the bundle, which contained many hundreds of thousands of dollars. He was rewarded—a couple or three thousand, as I recall. The story made banner headlines all over the country—and then his miseries began. People began ringing his telephone, cursing him, calling him foul names, saying he was a "dumb s.o.b." His wife was plagued continually while he was at work by similar calls. People began driving by his home, honking their horns and shouting gross obscenities out the window. His children were terribly ridiculed, persecuted in school. Finally, he had no recourse but to move to a different city, lose himself, change his life. His neighbors couldn't understand that kind of honesty.

        Of course, the ones who persecuted this gentle, decent, and honest man were viciously angry because they wished with all their hearts they had been the ones to discover the Brink's sack. It would have been the stuff of their dreams. They hated the honest black janitor. They were jealous. They were also thieves at heart, consumed with avarice.

        Millions worship at the altar of success. They drive themselves relentlessly, sometimes sacrificing personal health, mental tranquillity, friends, even marriages, in order to gain material success. Jesus' command that we pray for God's sustenance one day at a time has to do with the poison of idolatry; worshipping things, the things money can buy; worshipping power, success.

        What is success? There was a newspaper story about a distraught, mentally disturbed man in New York who gulped down poison just after he had poured lighter fluid on himself, quickly slashed his wrists, then struck a match and jumped out a multi-storied building to his death. This man wanted to make sure. He was successful—at suicide. But success is measured in this world by the size of one's bank account, not the quality of one's character. There are many filled wallets and empty lives.

        Jesus spoke a parable concerning success. He told of "...a certain nobleman [who] went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return. And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds [a sum of money], and said unto them, 'Occupy till I come.'

        "But His citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, 'We will not have this man to reign over us.' And it came to pass, that when he was returned, having received the kingdom, then he commanded these servants to be called unto Him, to whom he had given the money, that He might know how much every man had gained by trading.

        "Then came the first, saying, 'Lord, thy pound hath gained ten pounds.' And he said unto him, 'Well, thou good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities.' And the second came, saying, 'Lord, thy pound hath gained five pounds.' And he said likewise unto him, 'Be thou also over five cities.' And another came, saying, 'Lord, behold, here is thy pound, which I have kept laid up in a napkin, for I feared thee, because thou art an austere man: thou takest up that thou layest not down, and reapest that thou didst not sow.'

        "And he said unto him, 'Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked servant. Thou knewest that I was an austere man, taking up that I laid not down, and reaping that I did not sow: Wherefore then gavest not thou my money into the bank, that at my coming I might have required mine own with usury?

        "And he said unto them that stood by, 'Take from him the pound, and give it to him that hath ten pounds.' (And they said unto him, 'Lord he hath ten pounds,') For I say unto you, That unto every one which hath shall be given; and from him that hath not, even that which he hath shall be taken away from him.

        "But those mine enemies, which would not that I reign over them, bring hither, and slay before me" (Luke 19:12-27).

        In a parallel analogy, the "Parable of the Talents" (Matthew 25:14-30), Christ said the money was given to each servant "according to his several ability." The lesson is clear that Christ is speaking of Himself as the Nobleman. We are the servants, to whom Christ has given individual gifts—our own personalities, abilities, natural talents. Each of us is expected to produce according to our natural abilities. It matters not that one is more able than the other, the proportionate degree of success is the same! The servant who hid his talents like money in a mattress was the one who was chastised.

        Those to whom Christ delivers the largest sums are expected to be busily occupied in becoming a success. Here, Christ is not impugning increase; He is not disparaging gain. No, He is encouraging it!

        Notice the underlying approbation of the free enterprise system. The wealthy landowner has the perfect right to commission employees as he likes. He has the right to strike separate bargains, sign different contracts, deliver different commissions, according to his assessment of each man's natural abilities.

        Obviously, Christ is using successful enterprise as a type of building character; overcoming sin. Not everyone starts even. Some have inherently more natural ability than others. Still, their reward is the same, spiritually, if they overcome to the best of their natural ability. Christ is not disparaging money. He is using money as an example of Christian overcoming, showing it is a matter of priorities. Those who covet wealth are guilty of idolatry. Idolatry and covetousness are sins, which are punishable by eternal death, loss of God's Kingdom! Learning how to handle material success, how to handle money wisely and generously is a powerful test of character, a measuring rule which is used by God to determine our fitness for His Kingdom.

        Jesus Christ was not an ascetic. He did not enjoin upon us lives of abstinence, poverty, failure. God does not glory in the lack of accomplishment, inability, indolence, laziness; He is not impressed by the vanity of the poor. (Yes, even poor people can have vanity coupled with hatred of the wealthy, it is one of their main defenses against pangs of conscience, a method whereby they can convince themselves their plight is always someone else's fault, which, in some cases, it is.) These two parables show Christ expects His servants to prosper. God does not automatically reject those who are successful.

        David's son, Solomon, became king over Israel. He expanded the Davidic kingdom; built a magnificent temple to God, palaces, public buildings. He had a throne of pure ivory carved for himself, imported peacocks and apes, exotic animals from India; imported metals from the British Isles. His kingdom was magnificent to the point of breathtaking splendor. Queen Hatshepsut of upper Egypt, most probably the "Queen of Sheba" of the Bible, related how her visit to Jerusalem had "taken her breath," when she saw the beautiful buildings, balustraded, terraced gardens, flowing streams, reflective pools, fountains, the fabulous treasures of Solomon's temple and palace.

        Solomon was one of the wealthiest men of all time. He wrote of the entire experience of amassing his wealth. "I made me great works; I builded me houses; I planted me vineyards: I made me gardens and orchards, and I planted trees in them of all kind of fruits: I made me pools of water, to water therewith the wood that bringeth forth trees: I got me servants and maidens, and had servants born in my house; also I had great possessions of great and small cattle above all that were in Jerusalem before me: I gathered me also silver and gold, and the peculiar treasure of kings and of the provinces: I gat me men singers and women singers, and the delights of the sons of men, as musical instruments, and that of all sorts.

        "So I was great, and increased more than all that were before me in Jerusalem: also my wisdom remained with me. And whatsoever mine eyes desired I kept not from them, I withheld not my heart from any joy; for my heart rejoiced in all my labour ... then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labor that I had laboured to do: and, behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun" (Ecclesiastes 2: 1-11). The book of Ecclesiastes is an object lesson in priorities. Time and again, Solomon mused on the fact that "one event happeneth to both the wise and the fool, " meaning death; he pondered the final end of those who had spent their lives in amassing wealth, only to leave it to others, and to go down to the dust of earth in the same fashion as the poor. Finally, he said, "Therefore I hated life; because the work that is wrought under the sun is grievous unto me: for all is vanity and vexation of spirit" (Ecclesiastes 2:17).

        Solomon almost became a candidate for suicide. But, as he continually said, his philosophical pursuits were governed by the retention of his unusual amount of wisdom which God had given him. Even though giving himself over to every sensual pleasure; drunkenness, sex, sumptuous banquets, concerts; the trappings and entertainment of kings; he retained his insightful wisdom. At the end of it all he wrote, "Let us hear the conclusion of the matter: fear God, and keep His commandments: for this is the whole of man. " (The words, "duty of" in the KJV are italicized, indicating translators added them later). When Solomon spoke of "vanity and vexation of spirit" he used an expression which means, literally, "striving after wind." He knew the lifelong struggle for material wealth was like trying to seize a handful of air in one's grasp.

        Solomon came to see relative values. Since death is the common occurrence, recognizing no class, no position, no amount of material wealth, he came to understand that each individual should live to the very best of his ability; that the "whole man" was only attainable through the keeping of God's commandments, study of God's word; discovery of knowledge, understanding, and wisdom. Without understanding the purpose of human life, Solomon came to see, life was merely a "striving after a handful of wind."

        Yet, for all his wisdom, Solomon's heart was turned away by his many wives and concubines during his old age (I Kings 11: 1-9).

        Jesus Christ did not imply we should live in a state of uncertainty concerning our next meal, that any degree of material success, any accumulation of wealth, is inherently wrong. With Christ, it was all a matter of priorities, of emphasis. He gave the parable of "Lazarus and the Rich Man" to illustrate the sin of calloused disregard for the plight of the poor (Luke 16:19-31). Christ also spoke of the deceitfulness of riches in His famous parable of the sower. The seed that fell among thorns was analogous to "he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he become unfruitful" (Matthew 13:22).

        Again, it is a matter of emphasis. Christ said, "Therefore I say unto you take no [anxious, worried] thought for your life; what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and body than raiment?" Then followed His examples of how God clothes the beautiful flowers of the field; how He feeds the fowl of the air. Christ asked, "Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?

        "Therefore take no thought [the Greek word means "anxious thought" –conveys fear, worry, concern], saying 'What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?' (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the Kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

        "Take therefore no [anxious] thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself, Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof' (Matthew 6:25-34). Notice Christ says God knows we have need of "all these things." It is a matter of emphasis. Where are our hearts and minds? Are we so busily concentrating on making ends meet, earning a living, or attempting to amass wealth, that we have no time for the very purpose for our lives? God wants our priorities straight first, then He promises to supply our every need.

        An outstanding example of wrong priorities occurred when Jesus offered a very wealthy young man a discipleship. The youth asked Christ, "Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? And He said unto him...'if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments!' He saith unto Him, 'Which?' Jesus said, 'Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.' The young man saith unto Him, 'All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet?' Jesus said unto him, 'If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.'

        "But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.

        "Then said Jesus unto His disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly [with great difficulty] enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of God.' His disciples were dumbfounded at this saying, but Jesus said, "With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible" (Matthew 19:16-26).

        God does not say it is impossible for the rich to enter His Kingdom, He merely says it is extremely difficult. Why? Priorities. Christ warned, "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. " How many truly secure rich people are there? How many are consumed with worry, anxiety? How much is enough? The sorrowful human examples are legion; history is replete with the common human tragedy of the utter devastation wreaked in human lives through great wealth. How many "stars" have there been who have simply been unable to handle "stardom," and whose lives were ruined as a result? Priorities. If we know and are busily fulfilling the purpose in our lives, no amount of wealth will corrupt us. But if we are pursuing success, glamour, fame, wealth; the things money can buy as ends in themselves, then we shrivel up inside; we become avaricious, cunning, deceitful, utterly selfish. These base human motives bespoil the beautiful character God wants to see developed in us as surely as a vial of acid will ruin a great painting. Again, it is a matter of priorities.

        In a stinging condemnation, James indicts the indifference of the very rich toward the poor: "Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.

        "Behold, the hire of the laborers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth [Lord of Hosts]. Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter. Ye have condemned the just; and he doth not resist you" (James 5:1-6).

        Here, James cites fraud, murder, deliberate exploitation of labor as crimes which resulted in ill-gotten gain. This is not a general condemnation of anyone who happens to have material substance, but an indictment of those who cheat, steal, and murder to become rich. As such, it is a perfect indictment against organized crime, against those who become super-rich trafficking in drugs. This is wealth accumulated at any price, riches no matter what.

        Christ's instruction to pray for our sustenance "one day at a time" becomes much clearer in the light of James' statement, "Go to now [Or, "come on, now,"], ye that say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain:' Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. For that ye ought to say, 'If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this or that,' but now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing [boasting of the future without regard to God] is evil' (James 4:13-16).

        Priorities again. If the would-be businessman were to take God into His business as a partner, saying, "If it is God's will, I will go to such and such a city, and buy and sell, and get gain," and if he means he will conduct his business according to God's will, as we saw in chapter five, then His priorities are straight; he is placing God and His Kingdom first in his life! Such a man will not profit illegally. He will not attempt to achieve success through cheating his neighbor. He will not evince calloused disregard for the poor.

        When Christ says to pray, "Give us this day our daily bread, " He wants us to remember His vitally important statement, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God" (Matthew 4:4). He wants us to remember the terrible fragility of our lives, our temporality. The prayer of the righteous thinks first of the needs—of others, addresses the needs of the poor, the sick, the diseased, the crippled and helpless, the lonely, the injured and the dying. Then, the prayer of the righteous asks, "Give us only that of which we have need," in a selfless, giving, sharing attitude of concern toward fellow man.

        Here and there, we have been amazed at the examples of the super rich who seemingly could not give away their money fast enough. There are inspiring accounts of magnanimity, altruism almost beyond belief. Such examples prove it is possible to become very wealthy without allowing money to corrupt character.

        It is not wrong to go to God with a request on our lips; to include the words, "Give us... " in our prayer. It's all a matter of priorities.

        There are not a few examples of extremely wealthy, successful men who retained sight of moral values; whose wealth, instead of corrupting diem, made them great. Such a man was Andrew Carnegie.

        Carnegie was born the son of a small businessman in Scotland; his father owned a handloom business. Unfortunately, the competition of steam power forced the Carnegies out of business in about 1848, and they decided to emigrate to the United States. Young Andrew was only 10 years old when he got a job as a bobbin boy in a cotton factory at 20 cents per day. He was a precocious lad; his keen mind brought him to the attention of a supervisor in the engine room where he learned how to be an engine tender. Next, his arithmetic and good penmanship earned a promotion to clerk. Then he got a job as a telegraph messenger, which, due to his curiosity about Morse and telegraphy, resulted in a job as telegraph operator. Meanwhile, he became a part-time newspaper reporter, specializing in the telegraphic end of the news.

        That resulted in his appointment as telegraphic train dispatcher to the Pennsylvania Railroad. Later, he became personal secretary to the general superintendent of the railroad, Colonel Thomas A. Scott. When Scott became vice president of the line, he named Carnegie superintendent of the Pittsburgh division. Learning of the booming sales of the Pullman sleeping-car system, Carnegie shrewdly invested in the Woodruff Company, which held the original patents. His soaring dividends went into carefully selected oil lands around Oil City, Pa. When the Civil War broke out, Carnegie was put in charge of eastern military railroads and telegraph lines.

        Carnegie saw, in about 1862, that wooden bridges were going to be replaced with iron ones. He organized the Keystone Bridge Company, which constructed the first iron bridge across the Ohio River. Later, as a result of this experience, he left the railroad to construct the Union Iron Works, which included furnaces and rolling mills. By 1888 he had acquired a controlling interest in eight other steel works around Pittsburgh, mostly due to the practice of using slack periods to improve plants and purchase new equipment, so he was ready instantly when business picked up again. This placed him far ahead of his competitors. His profits soared, and by 1899 he consolidated all of them into one gigantic company, the Carnegie Steel Company. By 1901, Carnegie retired from business life and transferred his company, valued in 1901 dollars at $500 million, into the still larger United States Steel Corporation, formed by J. Pierpont Morgan.

        Carnegie began to write; to travel. His book The Gospel of Wealth caused quite a stir on both sides of the Atlantic, for he had developed a philosophy which said, in brief, that the very wealthy should be governed by a sense of argent oblige; that the accumulation of material wealth and prosperity carried with it an obligation to use that wealth for the public good.

        He set himself to give his money away wisely—realizing this was no easy task; that money is power, authority; that it can ruin lives as well as enhance them. Carnegie established institutes and foundations; the Carnegie Institute of Pittsburgh was originally endowed with $24 million, and included a museum of fine arts, a music hall, a museum of natural history, and an institute of technology with a library school. He established the Carnegie Institution of Washington to encourage scientific research; the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission to recognize heroic acts performed in every day life; the Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching; the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, with gifts of $22 million, $10 million, $15 million and $10 million, respectively.

        He became a renowned and successful author, writing many books, including Triumphant Democracy, Problems of Today, and An American Four-in-Hand in Britain.

        Carnegie died at the age of 84, having lived a life of success; of travel, study, creativity, energy, productivity, and generosity. He gave away huge sums of money, such as the $135 million he gave to establish the Carnegie Corporation of New York for the purpose of the "advancement and diffusion of knowledge and understanding."

        The accounts of fame and fortune corrupting we mortals are more plentiful than those relating largess, but Carnegie's example proves it is possible. Christ does not smile on poverty for its own sake. It is not "righteous" to be poor, any more than it is automatically evil to be rich. Character is what counts.
It is a supreme test of character to get on your knees and pray, ... and give us this day our daily bread..." and really mean it!