“…who hunger and thirst for righteousness…”

Let’s start by being honest. Most of us have never hungered or thirsted for anything. To be truly hungry and to be parched with no relief, we just do not know how that feels. I mean, we have been hungry, and most likely we have been thirsty. But to hunger and thirst? Come on. Hungering is not a craving that is satisfied by a peek into the fridge or a quick run to Wendy’s. Thirsting is not a turn of the tap or a bottle of relief.

To hunger and thirst for something, is essentially a painful longing for something you do not have. And we have everything. If you live in America you either have everything or you have access to everything. And because of this we simply don’t, and sometimes can’t, find ourselves hungering and thirsting for anything. You see, this passage, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled”, speaks to those who need God, those who must seek His ways to be filled by His merciful coffers, people who yearn and long for His presence.

My fear is not that we don’t do this. No, my fear is that we do not know how. So we sit, complete control over our own appetites, controlling our fate, while our stomachs become our God’s (I love Paul’s analogies…see Philippians 3:19)

In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus tells a parable about a rich man and a man named Lazarus. It is worthy to note that this is the only parable in which Jesus gives a character a name. Lazarus is this case literally means “God is with you or God is your provider”. The rich man dressed in his fine robes, feasts at his table daily, according to the bible, and at the end of the day throws his scraps to Lazarus, who consequently begs outside the gates of the rich man’s home every day. Many historians and biblical scholars say that the rich man, who had no silverware, as was the case for everyone 2000 years ago, would wipe his hands on loaves of bread between courses (this was actually the norm. Dinner consisted of many courses, different foods and desserts, and because of the lack of silverware and/or napkins for that matter, loaves of bread were brought out by servants so the elite could wipe their hands). It was this bread, the soiled bread used for cleaning ones hands, this bread was what was thrown outside the gate to Lazarus.

Jesus goes on to say this man is condemned. To hell even. This man, rich, and probably not by his own doing, I bet he hit the Jerusalem lottery (more than likely it was inherited), is considered one of the most condemned man in scripture. Why? Because he didn’t share? No, he gave of his scraps. Because he didn’t care? No, he acknowledged Lazarus and again gave to his need. He is condemned because he has never has, and more importantly he does not know how to, thirst and hunger for anything. How could he, how could a man who has everything, either by power or access, thirst and hunger for anything.

The rich man had all the opportunities and had all the resources to change the course of Lazarus’ life, to share in his abundance with Lazarus. But he settled for giving soiled bread. He settled for sharing his scraps, his leftovers, and because of this he was condemned.

Is this not us? Is this not a clear picture of America, dare I say, the Church today? Could it be that the satisfaction of our appetites, the constant filling of our desires by our own hands, has not allowed us to be filled by God’s hands. And because we eat from our own table, and not God’s, the thirst for His goodness, the hunger or His love, it all disappears.

Last year the North American Church received 107 billion dollars as reported to the IRS. 107 Billion. Money, resources, of which some will go towards building, some towards salaries, perhaps some will go unused, some will be lost… 107 billion while children go homeless, mothers go helpless, and the rest of the needy feed off the bred of the church. The soiled, leftover bread of the church… You tell me what’s worse, not hungering or thirsting for righteousness? Or never having to hunger or thirst at all? Unfortunately, for many of us, this is a life or death question.