Matthew 5:6
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.
As a child, growing up on the west coast of central Florida, I experienced some hot summer days. Days of playing sports and doing the typical kid things of a 70's summer (we were outside all day whether we liked it or not, a very different time). Then we'd stop what we were doing, and suddenly realize we were soooo thirsty that we'd drink warm "hose water" and were grateful for it. This was long before the days of bottled water when even the thought of buying "plain water" from a can or bottle was laughable. Some years later I had a job unloading trucks with a manual pallet jack and stocking shelves at a very busy grocery store where we literally ran all day just to keep up. Back then, I was in good enough physical shape that even after a hard 10-12 hour day we would play sports for several hours and then my friends and I would descend on a local restaurant that had a cheap and terrible all-you-can-eat buffet. It had overboiled pasta and watery tomato sauce with some kind of meat-ish substance, but it didn't matter, it was cheap and we thought we were starving with our teen metabolisms in full swing . I think I would have eaten dirt if I hadn't had a Mom who kept a full pantry to raid or the few dollars needed for the buffet.
For most of us who are blessed with ample water and sufficient food, unless we are in an extreme circumstance, we never really know thirst or hunger. We may feel a little "peckish" or have a craving, but we can go a lifetime without knowing true hunger or what it is to truly need hydration. In the passage from the Beatitudes quoted above Jesus was addressing a group of people who had probably known what it was to be truly hungry and thirsty. They would have known the true desperation one experiences when there is a lack of either food or water and known what lengths they would have gone to to get needed nourishment for themselves and their families. Jesus relates that life-giving need to the righteousness He offers.
Our English word "righteous" derives from an Old English word "rightwise" which described just, moral and divinely right conduct and actions. The Greek word it translates essentially means the same thing. So, Jesus is saying if we truly desire to be right in His sight with our conduct and actions, He will give us all we need to do so. Have you ever truly wanted for everything you do to be right with Jesus? Is that a goal? Have you even thought about it?
Jesus said in Matthew 6:31-34; “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble."
Over the past couple of years we have had a dynamic shift in people's work ethic. Right or wrong, it has changed and there are those who don't see a need to work at all and expect someone else to provide for them. Then there are others whose sense of self worth is completely tied up in financial and work related success, so they will sacrifice anything and everything to achieve their career and financial goals. Can someone who claims to be a Christian live a life where Jesus' expectations of them are secondary and rightfully expect Jesus to bless and honor their actions? The heart of my question is: what is it you truly desire?
If we desire, long for, strive for obedience to Christ and honoring Him and His teaching, then He instructs us to build healthy families, have healthy relationships founded in love, be an honest and ethical employee and/or boss. When we examine the full counsel of God and align our priorities with scriptural instruction, then everything else is as it should be. It doesn't mean that there won't be difficulties or times of grief or hard work or hardship. It does mean that Jesus promises us that, when He is our priority and our conduct aligns with His expectation, then He is working in everything on our behalf for our good, or as the Apostle Paul puts it in Romans 8:28; " And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose."
John 6:35 tells us; "And Jesus said to them, I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst." You can take this at face value that Jesus protects His own and provides physically for us. I say "Amen" to that, but I believe this is also a deeper conversation regarding the needs of our true, everlasting self - the part of us that longs for "truly living" and is beyond merely existing.
Do you feel "satisfied" with your life? Are you happy with your own conduct? Is it "rightwise" with Christ? If not, maybe you are hungry and thirsty for the wrong things.