“Be Hungry For Righteousness!”

“Be Hungry For Righteousness!”
Yesterday I was with a group of young people in the farm. They had a heated debate about speaking in tongues and other religious issues. One of them said his junior brother is now speaking in tongues. He complained about the many days his brother spends in church. The worst part is that his brother does not want to work.
These were my sons from the same quarter with their wives. They were ten in number. Some belong to my denomination. I did not argue with them. I did not come in as a “know all” to start schooling them. I just followed their discussions.
What I noted was their ignorance about their faith and that according to them, some ministers – even within mainline denominations – take advantage of the gullibility of the flock for selfish ends.
Such capitalise on passages like this one to play on the psyche of the naive. Jesus said:
“Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied….” (Lk.6:20-26).
Imagine the poor revelling in their poverty because by being poor they are blessed and have access to the kingdom. Imagine people being happy that they are hungry and they are going to be satisfied.
Karl Marx is often quoted for stating that religion was the opium of the poor. Marx was not condemning religion, rather he was challenging the way the handlers of religion were using their sacred texts to make the poor and hungry feel happy in their condition; just like we have seen in the discussions of the young people above.
If Jesus did not own anything it is because he was an itinerant preacher moving from place to place. He grew up in a stable home. Joseph his foster father was a carpenter with a source of regular income to feed his family.
Even though Jesus was a wandering preacher, his group had a treasurer. He could not have encouraged people not to work and improve upon their income and uplift their situations in life. When the crowds that followed him were hungry he fed them. He didn’t tell them that they are blessed to be hungry, so they shouldn’t bother because they’ll be satisfied.
Jesus is not talking of material poverty and physical hunger. He is talking of recognising that we are spiritually poor and hungering for righteousness which satisfy our spiritual quest.
Like I told my young people yesterday, regurality in church and praying in tongues without hard work does not put food on the table.
We thirst and hunger for the things of God and he blesses our efforts for our physical and material wellbeing. “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness…”
Prayer: Holy Spirit help me to hunger and thirst for the kingdom of God and his righteousness. Amen!
Have a blessed day! Peace be with you!