Bob Lilly, the Hall of Fame defensive tackle for the Dallas Cowboys, in a testimony to our church several years ago said, “On the first day of training camp, Coach Tom Landry said to the squad, ‘My priorities are God, family, and the Dallas Cowboys, and they are in that order.’” Like it is for most of you, my family is near the top of my priorities. I want the best for them in every way. Don’t you? While you love your family and long to provide the best for them, don’t forget their basic needs. It is not enough to give them housing, shelter, clothes, automobiles, and an education. There are other things that they need from you beyond the material things. Jesus said, “Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God”(Matthew 4: 4). Bread is, of course, basic. It is truly the proverbial stuff of life. But this biblical assertion reminds us that we human beings have other hungers too—hungers that do not originate in our physical appetites. God has built into each of us powerful hungers that simply will not be satisfied by bread alone. We have a deep and abiding hunger for love and affection. We have a hunger to be needed, to know that we are filling a vital role in some life other than our own, that we are performing a task that enriches the community, and that we are making some contribution, however humble, to the sum total of things. We have a genuine hunger for dignity, for self-respect, and for the refreshing sights of goodness, courage, and kindness; which enable us to renew our faith in ourselves and in one another. But while you give your family many things, make sure you don’t neglect the main thing; don’t neglect the only bread that can satisfy—Christ himself.
