As this week closes, we come to our last day with St. Paul’s epistle to the Philippians. Here are two goals for you for next week. Pick one of them or both of them.
St. Paul learned the “secret” of being well fed and of going hungry, of living in abundance and of being in need (Philippians 4:12). The “secret” that he learned is obvious to anyone who knows it. It’s just Jesus Christ. Very simple. But then again, there is learning and then there is learning. If someone claims to know how to ride a bicycle, because he learned in a book that you have to hold the handlebars and push down on the pedals, well, he knows but he doesn’t know. It’s not until he has, himself, grabbed the handlebars and pushed down on the pedals and actually ridden the bike that he has learned in the full sense. So, the first goal for you for next week is this: learn how to go hungry or be in need by actually doing it, with God’s help. Give up some little thing, and invite God himself to provide for you.
Two verses later, St. Paul writes that “it was kind of you to share in my distress,” so this will be the second goal for you for next week: allow someone to share in something that distresses you, and appreciate their kindness in doing so. Don’t be too proud to allow yourself to be helped. Don’t be too aloof to allow others to see some of the challenges you face. If you are a human being, you face challenges. It’s not always a mark of weakness to allow others to help you in your distress. Sometimes, like in the case of St. Paul, it’s a mark of profound humility.