FRESH START TODAY - (Blog 21) Partial author is Marty Nordloh

FRESH START TODAY…  What is being in Need really mean?

Yesterday my husband and I were casually talking about the Scripture for this week when he said that it might be interesting to talk about the living conditions the writer of these Scriptures experienced in his daily life.  What was it like in the best of living conditions or the worst of living conditions in the time he lived? 

Consider Paul’s comments about living in plenty and living in want.  In the height of his plenty he may have lived in a palace, he may have lived in a house of the time, he probably lived in one of the tents he made, and lastly we know that he did live in prison a few times.

Think about a palace; you have probably seen on TV and/or in the movies the great palaces of the Roman Empire and other opulent royalty as well.  Beautiful polished stonewalls, sometimes draped with magnificent curtains, drapes, or banners.  Huge fireplaces and elegant furniture strategically placed around about.  Brilliantly polished marble floors and large open windows looking down upon the streets below.   Allow your imagination to work for a few moments.

Think about a house; the houses of Paul’s day were made of bricks made of mud and straw.  The floors were dirt that had been smoothed, sprinkled with water, trampled smooth with bare feet, then covered or not, with furs or rugs.  The furniture was simple in nature and each usually served many purposes.  The windows were openings that were covered with curtains that could be opened during the day and drawn closed at night.  The roof was usually made of long poles with long reed grass woven into a ceiling/roof.   There would have been a fireplace built into the wall that provided heat and a place for cooking.  Again let your imagination work for a few moments.  

Think about a tent; Paul was a tent maker by trade and most likely lived in a tent for several years of his life.  Tent living of that day was not like tent living today.  The tents were considerably larger and more spacious than what we think about when we go camping.  They were more like the military tents of this day.  Living inside a tent was very much like living inside a house of the day with the exception that the walls were made of fabric or skins of some sort.  Furniture was rare.  You most likely sat on a skin or a rug on the floor propped up by a pillow of sorts.   Imagination time again. 

Think about a prison; Marty and I lived in Brindisi, Italy for 2 ½ years during the earlier years of our marriage when he was in the United States Air Force.  We visited Venice, Rome, Naples. Pompei, Bari, Brindisi and toured the backcountry in many places of this ancient country.  When we were in Rome we were able to go into many places in the Coliseum that now they have stopped the tourism due to the deterioration.  On one tour that we took we actually went down into one of the dudgeons that they state that Paul had been imprisoned in.  We climbed down a wooden pole ladder through a hole in the ground floor of a building that was about 2 feet in diameter, into a dark, damp, smelly room that was roughly circular in shape.  Around the outer edge of the room was a ledge that was used to set and/or sleep upon.  There were chains anchored into the wall that were used to shackle both feet and hands.  There were no lights, save little indentations with candles.  The guide told us that Paul wrote some of the letters to the churches here in this prison.  It was musty, dark and a person that may be 6 feet tall would have to bend over to walk around in it.

In none of these places was there fresh running water to drink.  There were no water heaters to provide for a hot shower or bath.  There were no gas stoves and skillets to fry the chicken or a steak upon.  The beds they slept in were not Tempur Pedic, Sleep Number, or Serta.  There were no forced air furnaces to keep you warm, or air conditioners to keep you cool.  Think about what you consider living in plenty or living in want today means.

Take a few moments to stop and thank God for what you do have, because what you do have today that you probably consider tough would very probably compare to the plenty that Paul was thinking about when he wrote the words of today’s Scripture.  

Phil 4:11-13,  I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength. NIV