Matthew 6:11 – "Give us this day our daily bread."
Luke 11:3 – "Give us day by day our daily bread."
In other words, we ask Yahweh to provide those needs that are essential to maintaining life, health, and physical needs on a daily basis. In all things, we are to be dependent upon Yahweh and not upon ourselves. And how easy it is to forget this imperative. On the day I graduated from Bible College – I owed the Feds $300 a month for student loan payments, rent took up another $400, and then there was the cost of food, etc, and I only earned $800 each month. By the end of the month I was flat broke – if the wallet had $2 bucks in it, I figured I'd forgotten to pay something – but my happiest days were the years just after graduation. Looking back, I can now see it was because I was basically unable to fend for myself, though at the time I didn't realize it. Yahweh had indeed provided for every need.
Storing Goods For Self
Luke 12:18-19 – "He said, 'This is what I will do. I will pull down my barns, and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods'. And I will say to my soul, 'Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry'."
Much to do these days is made of prepping for the entire period of the tribulation. Dozens of advertisements advise us to buy a supply of this or that, claiming that this or that item has a shelf life of twenty-five years, or it can feed a family of five for ten months! And, of course, the food that is advertised has been taste tested and is oh so wonderful to the palate. Yeah, right. Bank accounts, Savings accounts, IRAs, Retirement Funds, Stocks and Bonds – one is supposed to be investing in all of these things to fend off some future disaster. And many succumb to these schemes, take their ease, eat, drink, and be merry – rather than depend on Yahweh for their daily needs.
Storing Goods For Others
Genesis 41:48– "And he [Joseph] gathered up all the food of the seven years, which were in the land of Egypt . . ."
Does this scripture contradict the above scripture? One might think so, but one would be wrong. In this case, Yahweh had sent the dreams to Pharaoh which prophesied seven years of abundance followed by seven years of famine. Joseph properly interpreted these dreams and acted accordingly – not to provide for himself a work free retirement, but to provide for an entire nation, its neighbors, and his family. Yahweh had indeed provided for every need.
End Results
Luke 12:20-21 – "But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared?' So is the man who stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God."
The assessment of the rich farmer as a "fool" is for hording all those treasures for himself. The rich farmer acted inappropriately. Joseph, however, acted appropriately and was commended. The rich farmer did not depend upon Yahweh to provide his daily needs, Joseph did. Yahweh will indeed provided for every need.
Conclusions
Matthew 6:19-20 – "Do not accumulate for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven."
Storing goods can be either appropriate, as in Joseph's case, or inappropriate, as in the case of the rich farmer. True happiness, as I found out, comes from trusting in Yahweh to provide all ones daily needs – even if one isn't aware one is doing so at the time. Storing up a few things for the future is not a bad thing – we all do this each time we shop for a week's groceries. What matters most is why one is storing the goods. Be rich toward heaven. Yahweh will indeed provided for every need.
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