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*For those who listen: a note of apology for poor sound quality! We'll aim for better tomorrow!

I can do all this through him who gives me strength. Yet it was good of you to share in my troubles.\xa0 (Philippians 4:13-14)

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Paul has learned contentment in all things through his reliance on Christ, but that doesn\u2019t mean he\u2019s unwilling to receive support.

There can be a rather stoic attitude that we carry when it comes to receiving support from someone else.\xa0 We say no when someone offers to pay for or give us something. \xa0And, we can feel a certain level of guilt or shame after receiving something from someone\u2014as if our relationship is now out of balance because we owe them or have seemed \u201cin need\u201d to them.

This comes, because we feel like the only appropriate way to live is to strive to \u201cmake it on our own\u201d and be \u201cself-sufficient.\u201d\xa0 Our entire culture is organized this way.\xa0 The majority of us rent or own our own property where we live detached from other households.\xa0 We work jobs to support ourselves and our households.\xa0 We own vehicles by which we can drive ourselves to where we need to go.\xa0 We build up savings and portfolios to ensure that we will remain independent after retirement.\xa0 All of these things are constructed so that we will never need to rely on the hospitality of another.\xa0 We implicitly believe that all people should be able to do life in just this way: on their own, without burdening anyone else.\xa0

Of course, we also recognize that some people just can\u2019t do it that way, so we make sure the government provides services for them through our taxes.\xa0 Even so, somewhere deep in our heart of hearts, we may very well suspect this group of people to somehow be weak, lazy, lesser, or at fault for it.\xa0 \u201cThey did it to themselves,\u201d we think: \u201cthey deserve what they get.\u201d\xa0

All of this flows in the same direction.\xa0 The cultural assumption is that one should be able to do life on one\u2019s own, without the support or intervention of others.\xa0 To do less than this is to fail at life somehow.\xa0

We hold on, therefore, to the words of Jesus that: \u201cIt is more blessed to give than to receive.\u201d\xa0 This is the way things are supposed to be: stand on your own two feet and give to the needy who can\u2019t.\xa0

And yet: if we\xa0can do it all ourselves\u2014what need do we have of a saviour?\xa0 Indeed, many in our society have come to the very logical conclusion that we don\u2019t.\xa0 \u201cWe\u2019ve managed this life just fine on our own, thank you.\xa0 We don\u2019t need help from anyone else\u2014including God.\u201d

And if guilt and shame is what we feel when we have to admit need or when we receive something from someone: doesn\u2019t that actually work against our receiving the one and only thing we actually do need but can\u2019t get on our own: i.e. God\u2019s grace in Jesus?

The culture of our relatively wealthy, peaceful, and independent society actively works against the logic of the faith.\xa0 The contentment in Christ we spoke of yesterday includes the willingness and the ability to receive with gratitude and thanksgiving\u2014recognizing, once again, that our lives are not our own creation and that we are not the ones who hold on.\xa0 It is Christ who holds on to us.\xa0 Christ who provides for us.\xa0

This work of receiving is a necessary spiritual discipline to counteract the spiritual assumptions of our culture.\xa0\xa0More on that tomorrow. \xa0:-)

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