Needing Nothing
Revelation 3:17 For you say, I am rich; I have prospered and grown wealthy, and I am in need of nothing…
When we are hungry we recognize we are so by our stomachs alerting us to the fact our body needs fuel. This usually comes in the form of pains, tiredness, low blood sugar, and inappropriate noises coming from our stomach. If time permits we give attention to that need by looking for something to eat. The same thing is true of all our other needs: sleep, rest, water, adequate body temperature (hot or cold), adequate clothing, and shelter. When these needs are recognized we address them – if we can – through providing the resources that are necessary to fulfill that need.
Now the question we need to be asking ourselves is, Why aren’t we aware of our spiritual needs? What would be the symptoms that you had a spiritual need?
The Laodiceans were so blind and deaf spiritually that they couldn’t recognize their spiritual needs. They believed they had no need. This could have been caused by one of two things:
a) They were so wealthy in material things that it blinded them to their spiritual needs;
(b) They thought that they had arrived at the pinnacle of spiritual maturity and that there was no longer a necessity to grow.
Which raises a series of other questions, What spiritual needs do people have? How do you meet those spiritual needs? What are the basic tools or resources that we turn to in meeting those needs? Are we addressing those needs?
For example, your body can be hungry and instead of feeding it from the 5 basic food groups you actually starve it to death by feeding it chocolate candy bars. Even though you are eating you are not nourishing and sustaining it.
Many 21st Century Christians are suffering from the same spiritual malnourishment as the Laodiceans. Not aware that there is a problem we starve spiritually never addressing the problem.
Are you growing spiritually? If so how would you know? What are the basic spiritual needs that an individual has? How would you address those spiritual needs?
