God has graphic ways of communicating important messages to us. I remember a time
in the early days of my preaching ministry when I was bothered that I had no shoes.
Then it happened that within 48 hours, I got four pairs of shoes! God sovereignly moved
two individuals who gave me two pairs each on a Tuesday and Thursday respectively.
After I got those shoes, it dawned on me for the first time that I got only a pair of legs!
That changed my perspective. The lesson was re-emphasized during the lockdown
phase of the pandemic. I found myself using the same pair of shoes for three
consecutive weeks. Of course, at such moments the shoes you wear were the least of
the concerns. What really happened was that I resorted to teaching online. My little
office became the studio from where we were reaching out to the world. In the confines
of that office, there was no space to move around as I typically do when preaching. The
cameraman too had no space to maneuver for a life-size image of me. So my legs were
hardly captured on camera.

“A time comes when you have to subscribe to Christ’s view of finding contentment in the provision of basic necessities of life.”

The overall lesson is to put material things in the right perspective. Material things have
their place; but they don’t define us. This much is taught by Jesus Himself. Life does not
consist of the abundance of things we possess. True life is God working in us to do His
will. Good things are in order, but they must never become our sole aim in life. The
simpler we make life, the sweeter it gets. A time comes when you have to subscribe to
Christ’s view of finding contentment in the provision of basic necessities of life.