Applying Science And/Or Philosophy To Apologetics

KNOWING THERE IS A GOD FROM KNOWN FACTS OF SCIENCE AND PHILOSOPHY

"Do you know the laws of the universe?  Can you use them to regulate the earth?"  (Job 38:33, NLT).  
"The Cosmos is all that is or ever was or ever will be." --Carl Sagan, deceased humanist professor of astronomy at Cornell University and author of the book and TV series Cosmos.  
"God doesn't play dice with the universe."  "The universe appears to be some vast mathematical equation."--attributed to Albert Einstein 
"Science without religion is lame; religion without science is blind."  --Einstein 
NB:  THOSE WHO THINK SCIENCE IS IN CONFLICT WITH SCRIPTURE UNDERSTAND NEITHER!  

There have been many arguments to attempt proof of God; however, there's no sure-fire way, proving without a shadow of a doubt, with some "smoking gun" evidence, that cannot be denied, forcing one to believe either way against one's will, but when combined with the preponderance of the evidence (that there is or isn't a God) one can exercise faith in the direction of choice.  It takes faith both ways and all knowledge is contingent on taking some leap of faith and accepting something you cannot prove (and this applies to any field or academic discipline).

Here's my own theory that I have concluded about the existence of God to make you wonder.  I will use scientific and philosophical facts to prove religious truth. Note that to the ancient Greeks, science and philosophy had no clear-cut distinction and were considered one disciple in the pursuit of true knowledge or metaphysics.  Here's a cogent argument or rationale as an inferential argument and evidence for God's existence.  Remember, evidence and arguments are not necessarily proofs nor conclusive, they just lead one in a certain direction, and you go in that direction to make your decision.

First, there are (Newton's) Laws of Motion begging the question of how motion began with the first movement (namely, his First Law, known as inertia) in physics (i.e., a body at rest tends to stay at rest and a body in motion tends to stay in motion without an input of energy; who started it all?); secondly, there's the Heisenberg Principle of Uncertainty, stating that you cannot simultaneously determine the location and speed of an object in motion, which means you can only theoretically see it at a position because it's motion would have to be stopped--implying the universe is not completely mechanical; thirdly, the question unanswered philosophically or scientifically about how thought can influence motion, or physical things (like our body) when thought takes up no space and physical things do; finally, there's a law of science that nothing comes from nothing or can create itself as a corollary (ex nihilo, nihil fit, or Latin for "out of nothing, nothing comes"), and so there couldn't ever be a time with nothing existing!  Nothing existing would be unthinkable!  

Is mind over matter and does it precede matter?  We know that something other than matter and energy exists in the real world and that is intelligence.  Some atheists erroneously posit that time plus matter, plus energy, plus space with infinite time can make anything possible!  But can one argue matter has power over mind because physical things influence our thinking?   We are a dualistic being of body joined to the soul. Both are problems without believing in God as the sole primary cause of the universe (Causa prima in Latin).

The philosophical truths that everything that had a beginning has a cause and that infinite regress is impossible also apply.  For instance, the universe had a beginning and came into being at some point in the past about 15 billion years ago at the so-called Big Bang, according to astronomers; thus it had a cause and someone or something set it into motion or dialed, measured, and fixed the universal constants and laws that the whole universe is ruled by.  If there was a beginning, there was a beginner--it's only logical!  If there is a cause, there must be a first cause, by the same token (remember, there's no infinite regress, which only would compound the problem indefinitely for eternity).

All events and objects in space and time had a beginning, but don't jump to the conclusion that everything had a beginning; that would be fatal reasoning, and then there would be a time when nothing existed. God is outside space and time, which He created and controls!  And logic states the truth that out of nothing, nothing comes (ex nihilo, nihil fit)!  (Remember, if ever there was a time with nothing existing, we would have nothing now!)  If the universe were without beginning, on the other hand, you are saying it's infinitely old, and if that were so:  wouldn't everything be perfect by now?  The Bible stated in 2 Tim. 1:9 and Titus 1:2 that time had a beginning long before famed physicist Stephen Hawking wrote his book A Brief History of Time (we know there was a beginning of time because it's a corollary of space and matter).

We are trapped in the four dimensions of the time/space continuum.  Science now reasons and concludes that time had a beginning at the Big Bang and the clock started ticking, (with someone pulling the trigger, obviously).  Nothing can create itself, which would violate the law of noncontradiction, which is the first law of being and its extension being the law of causality, or cause and effect.  Christian theologians knew this all the time!

Now the paradox I propose is the one of motion (and there is no scientific definition of motion as one of the eternal mysteries that remains unsolved since antiquity).  Before you go from point A to point B you must reach the half-way mark (this paradox has been called Zeno's paradox, a Greek philosopher of antiquity).  Now note that it's impossible to know when you have reached the half-way point due to Heisenberg's Principle of Uncertainty.  And before you reach that half-way point you have to reach the half-way point of that or the quarter point, then the eighth point, ad infinitum! That's why there's no clear-cut definition of motion.  You could never move if you had to keep on reaching a mid-point to end up at the endpoint!  But movement is common sense!

Now we know there is no such thing as infinite regress by this conclusion, as proof now; we do see motion in action, despite our logic telling us motion is impossible. We just don't understand everything we see and feel or reason!  There had to be someone or something that put it into motion! Who started the so-called ball rolling?  There could be no motion with infinite regress!  

Bingo! God is known as the sole primary cause of the universe and also the First Cause (by Aristotle); this means He must put it into motion as the Prime Mover, Unmoved Mover, or Uncaused Cause. The principle is that nothing can be its own cause and that nothing just happens by itself.  If God had an antecedent cause, He would be trapped in the time/space continuum like we are, and would be the effect of something Himself; however He created time, matter, and space at creation; therefore, He has no cause! Either there is no motion, which seems insane and delusional, or there is no God or First Cause behind all events that happen in time. This brings new light to the opening words of Scripture:  "In the beginning God created...."  Note also God's name "I Am" could be translated "I cause to be," or I am the First Cause!

With all the intelligent input into the constants and laws of the Big Bang, such as the constant of gravity, charge of the electron the strength of the weak and strong nuclear forces, the atomic weight of a proton, etc., it only proves a Supreme Mind was behind it all, because there can be no intelligence without a mind-matter is, by nature, chaotic, and not ordered (order comes from an Orderer; design from a Designer, etc.). In the beginning, was pure energy that had no organization but was chaotic and had no order.   A point in fact:  Energy needs intelligence to be made useful and productive. 

Cosmos implies order and design and doesn't come from chaos and confusion, the normal state of energy, but we see the fine-tuned one in the cosmos. This is often called the argument from design, or teleological argument for God.  But Scripture states that logic (intelligence) and order was from the beginning:  "In the beginning was the Word (Logos or logic)..."--John 1:1); "In the beginning, God created..."--Gen.1:1.

The conclusion of the matter is that the existence of motion proves the existence of God and we can no more deny His existence than we can argue against motion and cannot prove either exists, but must have faith--our experience will be the verification, as the proof is in the pudding! You can experience and encounter God by faith ("Taste and see that the LORD is good," cf. Psalm 34:8); however, you must take a leap of faith first and this is a choice you make freely without being forced, which would be coercion or determinism--and God respects your choices.

We know, according to the Second Law of Thermodynamics or entropy, that matter isn't eternal because it's running out of usable energy and everything goes from a state of order to confusion, not vice versa, while someday there will be a heat death of the cosmos with no usable energy left: this implies there was a beginning to the universe and it cannot be eternal but must be created or caused!  Soli Deo Gloria!  

The School Of Suffering

"[F ]or he does not willingly afflict or grieve the children of men"  (Lam. 3:33, ESV).
"Why should a living man complain, a man, about the punishment of his sins?"  (Lam. 3:39, ESV).
"My son, do not despise the LORD's discipline or be weary of his reproof, for the LORD reproves him whom he loves, as a father, the son in whom he delights"  (Prov. 3:11-12, ESV). 
"I create the light and make the darkness.  I send good times and bad times..." (Isa. 45:7, NLT).
"But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold" (Job 23:10, NIV).  
"... But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering"  (Romans 8:17, NLT).
"Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later" (Rom. 8:18, NLT).
"Who best can suffer, best can do." --John Milton

Unfortunately, some of us have to learn the hard way--the school of hard knocks. Don't call your mistakes a failure, but an education--now you know what not to do!  Experience, the trial and error method that we chalk up to a learning experience, the O.J.T. in the trenches of life, and the pitfalls of everyday life are the best of all teachers.  No one escapes life problem-free!  Aldous Huxley, no Christian himself, remarked wisely, "Experience is not what happens to you.  It is what you do with what happens to you [what happens in you!]."  They say experience is not what happens to you, but in you and what you do with it. Two persons with the same experience react differently--the same clay melts the butter, hardens the clay!

Even Jesus "learned obedience by what He suffered" (cf. Heb. 5:8). Blessed are those whom God teaches and corrects out of the Word, though (cf. Psalm 94:12; Job 5:17). Suffering is par for the course and comes with the territory--no one is exempt, for even Jesus didn't exempt Himself and requires nothing of us He didn't overcome. "For since He Himself was tested and has suffered, He is able to help those who are tested" (Heb. 2:18, HCSB).  He was tempted in like manner as us, yet without sin and we have no right to complain (cf. Lam. 3:39 above), having not resisted sin to the point of shedding of blood (cf. Heb. 12:4).

God knows how to get our attention ("He gets our attention through adversity," Job 36:15), and pain is God's "megaphone to rouse a deaf world" (C. S. Lewis) that has become spiritually hard-of-hearing.  It is inevitable that adversity, suffering, trials, tribulations, temptations,  calamities, and hardships happen to us all in order to bring us closer to God and fashion us into His image and help us relate to Him: How does a sculptor forge a horse from a slab of marble?  By removing everything that doesn't look like a horse, of course! God is chipping away at everything that doesn't look like Jesus in our sanctification. The key is that adversity and hardship build character.  If Christ led us to it, He'll lead us through it!

Jesus warned of the man who was set free from a demon and didn't fill the void with Christ, only to be filled with seven demons and become worse off than before (cf. Matt. 12:45, NLT):  "... This will be the experience of this evil generation." The problem with man is that he cannot clean up his act and needs a supernatural work of grace to echo the words of Paul: "I am what I am by the grace of God." We all have feet of clay, or a flaw not readily visible or apparent.

Even evangelist George Whitefield said of a criminal going to the gallows: "There but for the grace of God, go I."  French mathematician and philosopher/theologian Blaise Pascal said that "we have a God-shaped vacuum only God can fill," while Saint Aurelius Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, North Africa, said concerning God, "You made us for Yourself, and our hearts find no peace until they rest in You."

Christianity is not just a reformed or recovered life, but a relationship and/or fellowship with the living God through Christ--a wholly new life in Christ--getting to know Him!  The goal is not to clean up our act, but to fill the emptiness and void with Christ living in our hearts.  Christ didn't come to make bad men good, but dead men alive, one preacher claims.  With Christ living in us, the demons cannot harm, hurt, nor even touch us. Jesus healed a man and later found him in the temple and admonished him:  "... Now you are well; so stop sinning, or something even worse may happen to you" (John 5:14, NLT). It is ill-advised to return to a life of sin after having been cleansed (cf. Heb. 10:26-27), and dangerous policy return to one's vomit like a dog (cf. 2 Pet. 2:22; Prov. 26:11). 

Remember the warning to the woman caught in adultery: "Go and sin no more! (Cf. John 8:11)" And don't look back! (Cf. Luke 9:62).  We must leave our life of sin!  Caveat:  We are not saved by good behavior or good deeds, but unto good behavior and good deeds, viva la difference! "We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works"  (cf. Eph. 2:10).  We are not saved by good works, but for them!  

There must be genuine repentance in the believer's life and our lives must show forth its fruits (cf. Acts 22:20).  Jesus saves us to bear fruit (cf. John 15:8, and those branches not bearing fruit are pruned).  We must prove we are up to the challenge and have changed by the good things we do in our attitude and behavior (cf. Acts 26:20). We don't want a new suit for the man, but a new man in the suit!  We don't merely "turn over a new leaf," but are born again or anew in the Spirit.  The whole point of our new life is that's it's radicalized in Christ and we are freed from the power of our sin--Jesus died to save His people from their sins (cf. Matt. 1:21), and he who is saved is freed from sin (cf. Acts 13:38-39).  "If the Son shall set you free, you shall be free indeed"  (cf. John 8:36). Christians are "overcomers," and this is the victory:  our faith! (1 John 5:4).  We must take God seriously when He warns us and not to put confidence in the flesh, but in the Spirit and learn to draw on His power as we walk in the Spirit by faith (cf. Gal. 5:16, 2 Cor. 5:17).

All Christians are called to suffer for Christ and in His name according to Phil. 1:29, NLT, which says, we have the "privilege of suffering for him."  Acts 9:16, NLT, says of Paul, "And I will show him how much he must suffer for my name's sake." The disciples gloried in and celebrated the fact that they were considered worthy to suffer in His name! (cf. Acts 5:41). This applies to us as well: The Christian life is not a bed of roses, but that doesn't mean we should get a martyr's complex either, thinking that the more we suffer, the better Christians we are!  We share in the "fellowship of His suffering" as we walk with Christ in the Spirit (cf. Phil. 3:10; Gal. 5:16). Paul was glad and could boast in the Lord, and gloried in his sufferings (cf. 2 Cor. 11:16ff).  Christ did say that Paul was to suffer great things for the sake of the Kingdom of God, but all of us "suffer that which is lacking in Christ's sufferings" to bring glory to Him (cf. Col. 1:24).

Christians are not called to be Stoics, whose primary objective is to cheerfully accept our lot in life, also known as the philosophy of the "stiff upper lip."  We are not ruled by blind forces of fate like the Islamic kismet (blind fate), or what's called determinism; we have the destiny to be fulfilled in Christ doing God's will.  We are not called to grin and bear it, though in Christ we can endure any trial or temptation, knowing Christ relates to our dilemma and predicament. 

It is a fact of psychology that one can endure almost anything if one sees purpose and meaning in it and has hope; we are in the voyage of a lifetime in our walk with Christ unto the eternal city!  We are not to sing "Que sera, sera, what will be, will be..." like Doris Day, and complacently resign ourselves to life of impersonal, mechanical fate beyond our control; however, we have input and a choice in our destiny and Christ is with us and on our side throughout the way to guide us as the pilot in charge on our flight to heaven.

Caveat:  Sometimes our sufferings are self-induced and from our own stupidity or ignorance in the ways of the world or in the Christian walk; if you've never made a mistake, you've never made anything, it's been well put.  Saint Augustine, said it well:  If I err, I am.  This was the prelude to Rene Descartes' formulation:  I think, therefore I am; and also: I think, therefore, God is! He should have thought:  "God is, therefore I think."

Thinking requires a thinker which precedes it, and the universe gives the impression of being one vast complex thought by a Supreme Mind that is also a Great Mathematical Thinker.  When we break God's moral laws ingrained in our conscience we must suffer the consequences, just like when we break physical laws or try to defy them (e.g., gravity)--God is the Great Lawgiver who rules over all and metes out due justice as well as mercy.

We must never wallow in self-pity and say, "Woe is me!" when we suffer for Christ's sake, it's an honor and will be rewarded.  Instead of wondering why unfortunate things happen to us, realize that good things happen to the unsaved--that's a bigger puzzle!  We must "through many hardships enter the kingdom of God" (cf. Acts 14:22), and they are part of the job description that we signed up for! Finally, a word to the wise is sufficient:  "Don't doubt in the dark what God told you in the light"--faith is not a leap into darkness, but a step into the light with God at your side as a guiding light, "until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts" (cf. 2 Pet. 1:19).    Soli Deo Gloria!   

Simply Believe?

"Only he who believes is obedient; only he who is obedient believes."  (Dietrich Bonhoeffer)
"Faith is not believing despite the evidence, but obeying in spite of the consequences."  (author unknown).  
"I will show you my faith by my good works!"  (James would say this)
"I will show you my good works by faith!"  (Paul would put this spin on our salvation)


Salvation is "by faith alone [the rallying cry of the Reformation], but not by a faith that is alone" (as the Reformers taught).  It must be fruitful--no fruit means no faith!  It isn't how much faith you have, but the object of the faith that matters.  True faith is validated in works only, not by feelings or emotions--some people are just sentimental types.  Obedience, then, is the only genuine test, as the Jews were found disobedient and therefore lacking faith in Heb. 3:18-19.

Saving faith is always joined and in juxtaposition to genuine repentance--some people don't have a problem believing, but in repenting!  Impenitent faith is not saving faith!  We are admonished to believing repentance or penitent faith if you will.  The most unnatural thing for us to accept is that salvation is by faith alone and all we have to do is simply believe (i.e., with the right kind of belief), as God gives us the gift of faith to exercise and walk through the door--we don't conjure it up by our own efforts (cf. 2 Pet. 1:1).

It would be so much more convenient for most people if only they had to do something for salvation--some work they could manage; however, if ever there were a work involved, we would flunk and fall short.  The only way it could be fair to all and make it so that anyone could get saved is if it were by faith alone, through grace alone. I'm not against works, just works religion; i.e., works done in the flesh and not in the Spirit.  We venture to boast only of what Christ has accomplished through us and in us (cf. Rom. 15:18).   It's so simple that the intellectual, philosopher, and legalist find it to be a stumbling stone, rock of offense, an impediment.  Man is incurably addicted to doing something for his salvation (cf. John 6:28-29)!

Yes, we can come to God as we are in faith, but we don't stay that way!  God works in our hearts a new life from the inside out--a transformation (cf. 2 Cor. 5:17) of all things new in Christ.  Now the key is to remember that faith is only the beginning, though we go from faith to faith (cf. Rom. 1:16-7), and increase in faith, and our living faith is not inert or static, but grows and matures into a seasoned believer with tried and proved faith.  One may say with complacency that he does believe, but belief is only the beginning--it's the door, not the final destination!   Faith is not certitude: we don't have to be fully persuaded to have saving faith and doubt is not the opposite of faith, but a component.

One disciple told Jesus (cf. Mark 9:24), "I believe, help thou mine unbelief!"  You will see that true faith always expresses itself and cannot remain silent (cf. Acts 4:20)!  Point in fact: There's no smoking-gun evidence to prove there is a God; on the contrary, there's none to prove there isn't!  You need not prove God unless they can disprove Him!  There's always going to be a place for doubt, but we must overcome it and walk by faith, not by sight (2 Cor. 5:7). All our questions will be answered in eternity (cf. John 16:23).

Salvation is not by knowledge but by faith, and that means one must take the leap of faith and bid his doubts goodbye in looking unto Jesus as Lord and Savior.  But, and this is an important contrast:  We can know for certain that we are saved--we are not just to hope we are saved, or even believe with doubt attached, but we are admonished to know for certain.  But this is what's called a "properly basic belief" or knowledge through a personal encounter with God and experiencing Him.  God speaks to our spirit and confirms our faith in us and we know as a result of the Spirit in us convicting us (cf. Rom. 8:16).  The Word of God coupled with the testimony and witness of the Spirit is a powerful assurance.

 And furthermore: God wouldn't command us to make our salvation certain (cf. 2 Pet. 1:10), if it were not possible to know for sure!  Two errors of newborn believers are not to take the Word of  God seriously and at face value, and to be ignorant of the Word and its promises.  Note that assurance of salvation is not an automatic fruit of salvation and many believers struggle with it and need to be informed of what the Bible teaches: assurance and security are two sides of the same coin and can be distinguished, but not separated--they go hand in hand.  If we weren't secure in our salvation, that we couldn't lose it, we could never be sure and certain we wouldn't lose it, and there would and could be no assurance.

When they say simply believe, it's so simple, but not simplistic, and so child-like, but not childish, that everyone from the intellectual to the simpleton and child has an equal chance to receive the gift of salvation by faith alone, not of any work, or we would have grounds of boasting to God. In the gift of saving faith (yes, we don't achieve, we receive), we may have doubts and all our questions may be unanswered, but we believe anyway and take the leap into the light, saying goodbye to the darkness of unbelief. We aren't inclined to believe nor are we asked to believe despite the evidence or with no evidence at all:  there's plenty of evidence and reason for credence, but for the skeptic and the stubborn and hardened heart, there's never enough evidence, because one must desire to do God's will (cf. John 7:17) and believe in Him.

It is one thing to believe God exists (cf. James 2:19), or that Jesus is Lord and Savior, and quite another to accept Him into your heart (cf. Rev. 3:20); i.e., trusting as Savior and submitting as Lord all by faith and loving Him in fellowship!   You don't need all the answers to believe, because God changes our hearts. It is important to note that we are judged by our works, not our faith (cf. Rom. 2:6).  If you don't have accompanying works, your faith is suspect, because the faith you have is the faith you show!  In the final analysis, the heart of the matter is that it's a matter of the heart--we must believe in our hearts, not just agree or consent with our minds (which is mere head belief)!

Caveat:  There is the temptation to think that believing is all there is to the Christian life and it doesn't matter whether one's life is submitted to the lordship of Christ and one is obedient to the Word, but this is so-called "easy-believism" and brings forth what's called "cheap grace," which justifies the sin, not the sinner!  True faith entails leaving behind the life of sin and embracing a new life in Christ with Him in at the helm, as the Master of our fate and Captain of our soul!

Some so-called Christians who live in sin tell their pastor, "It's okay, I believe!"  This ought not to be so!  The essence of the Christian life is not summed up in belief per se, as if believing were the whole story.  The whole point of conversion is a changed life, but one that God gives us, not that we accomplish on our own by "turning over a new leaf," making a New Year's resolution, or making an AA pledge to reform our lives--not self-improvement, but transformation by God.   Christ must be born in us, not just born in Bethlehem!

We're not just believing God is there, but in the God who is there, as revealed in the person of Jesus. There is a contrast between believing Jesus died on a cross and rose again, as a historical faith, and believing He did it for you personally!   And in conclusion, believing is only the beginning and the door to a new life (not the destination), we are to "follow on to know the Lord" (cf. Hos. 6:3, NLT, tells us to "press on to know the LORD") and walk with Christ as we progress from "faith to faith," as the Lord "... makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image" (2 Cor. 3:18, NLT).  (But saving faith is for those who realize and admit they're lost, for Christ "came to seek and to save those who are lost" (cf. Luke 19:10).)     Soli Deo Gloria!  

The True Spirit Of Grace-oriented Giving

"They asked only that we would remember the poor, which I made every effort to do"  (Gal. 2:10, HCSB).  
"One person gives freely, yet gains more; another withholds what is right, only to become poor"  (Prov. 11:24, HCSB). 
"A generous person will be enriched, and the one who gives a drink of water will receive water"  (Prov. 11:25, HCSB).  
"Since you excel in so many ways--in your faith, your gifted speakers, your knowledge, your enthusiasm, and your love from us--I want you to excel also in this gracious act of giving"  (2 Cor. 8:7, NLT).
"You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don't give reluctantly or in response to pressure.  'For God loves a person who gives cheerfully'"  (2 Cor. 9:7, NLT). 

All believers have the privilege and honor of sharing their blessings with others and promoting the work of God by financial support.  It's not necessarily how much we give, but the Spirit that we do it in that matters:  Mother Teresa of Calcutta (recently canonized by Rome) has said that it's not what you do, but how much love you put into it.  What God notices is a cheerful giver (cf. 2 Cor. 9:7) and the willingness to give as unto the Lord.  We thank God for His provisions, as the "LORD who will provide" ("the LORD will see to it" (Jehovah-Jireh), and are worshiping God through this act of selfless sacrifice.  Giving is not giving if not done sacrificially and if it doesn't hurt, you may be withholding from God who owns it all it in the first place and has given it to you as a steward of His blessings.

The obedient giver knows that Christ's words, "It is more blessed to give than to receive [Acts 20:35]," is the ultimate reality in God's economy.  The Bible says that some withhold and suffer loss and some give generously and gain.  No one comes out any worse in giving, for the measure we give is returned unto us.  It has been said that when we look out for other's interests, God looks out for us and we will never be in need of doing God's work.  Generosity is the spirit of true Christian giving and this is an attitude, not a measure or percentage of income--each person must make up his own mind how and how much to give, according to the measure of God's blessings.

If we feel we are obliged to give, it is done legalistically and hypocritically, and God cannot reward it--we must want to give and share our resources (which also includes our time, resources, relationships, talents, opportunities, energy, possessions, and gifts).  No one can afford not to give unto the work of God and to help the poor; in fact, if we are having a hard time making ends meet, we may need to open up God's treasures of blessing and share what He already has granted us (i.e., all our provisions from God).  In other words, we all need God's blessing on our lives and labors.

If you love money, you will never have enough!  The key is to become content with what you have and not to desire to be rich, which will lead to temptation.  Paul learned to be content in all situations, whether facing lack or abundance.  Not lacking any good thing or blessing doesn't mean that we will have all things:  God blesses some in some ways, some in all ways, but all in some way.  In sum, God is good to all (cf. Psalm 145:9), and delights to show mercy and bless us.      Soli Deo Gloria!