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THE SPIRITUAL OVER THE MATERIAL

SCRIPTURE READINGS

EXODUS 16:2-4, 9-15
EPHESIANS 4:1-16
JOHN 6:24-35

REFLECTION

The theme for our reflection is “The spiritual over material” The Spiritual over material is a call or an admonishment to focus on God or that which is divine and of eternal significance rather than obsession with worldly things which are ephemeral and of temporary significance. Our reflection on the theme and the given Scripture texts reveal the following facts:

1. We become anxious and faithless when we focus on the material more than the spiritual.
2. We please God and mature spiritually when we focus on the spiritual over the material.

Firstly, anxiety and being faithless are the result of focusing on the material over the spiritual. We see this fact play out in Exodus 16 2-4, 9-15 when the Israelites grumbled at God instead of having faith and trusting in His divine providence. The Israelites focused on hunger and food which represent the material cravings of humanity rather than having faith and putting their hope and trust in the God who delivered them from bondage in Egypt. Moses said in response to their grumbling “You will know that it was the LORD when he gives you meat to eat in the evening and all the bread you want in the morning, because he has heard your grumbling against him. Who are we? You are not grumbling against us, but against the LORD.” (Exodus 16:8)  Dear friend in the Lord, we shall continue to suffer from anxiety and lack of faith if our focus is on the insatiable material things of this world more than God. Jesus came to teach and change our perception from the material to the spiritual because material things do not guarantee our salvation. In contrast to the bread their ancestors ate in the wilderness after they grumbled, He said to them , “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. 36 But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. (John 6:35-36). In other words, accepting Jesus as Lord and Saviour and having an eternal relationship with Him is the sure way to prove that we are focused on the spiritual over the material. Dear friend, is Jesus truly your Lord and Saviour? Do you have faith in Him and are you following His perfect examples and teachings as one who is spiritually marching towards heaven? It is important to note that material things are useful to the flesh but totally useless to our spirits, no wonder Paul admonished us, “For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. (1 Timothy 6:7). Again, Jesus admonishes us, “What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? ³⁷ Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?” (Mark 8:36-37) Jesus understands that just as our spirits need salvation or eternal life, our bodies also need material things to survive on earth. But, according to order of importance and priority, He admonished us to focus on the spiritual over the material when He said “So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Matthew 6:31-33)

Secondly, we can please God and attain spiritual maturity when we focus on the spiritual over the material. We are purged of materialism and carnality as believers when Jesus reigns in our lives as the source of our spiritual foundation. To help us attain spiritual maturity over materialism, Paul wrote, “So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. (Ephesians 4:11-13). We must take keen interest in the spiritual meals or teachings being given to us by the spiritual leaders God has ordained to nurture our spirits. We must be careful not to overly focus our attention on worldly philosophies and teachings that focus on the fleshly desires and are opposed to our spiritual growth and the mission of God in the Church. There are fake teachers and sects whose teachings focus only on worldly prosperity and pleasure to the neglect of the salvation of our spirits. Let us be careful we are not lured or deceived but hold onto the unadulterated teachings and doctrines being taught from the Bible by our pastors, teachers, evangelists, and prophets. We shall attain spiritual maturity and Christian unity if we focus on spiritual teachings more than material philosophies and teachings. The result of focusing on the spiritual over the material is that “… we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. 15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. (Ephesians 4:14-15)

In summary, we have reflected on the theme, “The Spiritual over Material” We have discovered the fact that we become anxious and faithless when we focus on the material more than the spiritual. Again, we please God and mature spiritually when we focus on the spiritual over the material. The Holy Spirit empowers us to focus on the Spiritual over the material in our journey as disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.