Man Shall Not LIVE on Bread Alone
For years, I had known of the following Bible verse without really understanding it:
Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
Matthew 4:4
I used to assume that this meant living on bread alone (i.e. concerning ourselves purely with the physical) was a bad idea and that we should read the scriptures.
Just yesterday, I realized that it matters on which part of the sentence the emphasis is placed. I realized that the scripture might equally well have been stating "Man shall not live on bread alone" (author's italics). This changes the whole meaning of it. Read this way, it suggests we would not get eternal life if we ignore our spiritual being.
So is it "Man shall not live on bread alone", or "Man shall not live on bread alone" ?
It makes a difference.
If you found this post interesting, you might also like these related posts on this blog:
Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
Matthew 4:4
I used to assume that this meant living on bread alone (i.e. concerning ourselves purely with the physical) was a bad idea and that we should read the scriptures.
Just yesterday, I realized that it matters on which part of the sentence the emphasis is placed. I realized that the scripture might equally well have been stating "Man shall not live on bread alone" (author's italics). This changes the whole meaning of it. Read this way, it suggests we would not get eternal life if we ignore our spiritual being.
So is it "Man shall not live on bread alone", or "Man shall not live on bread alone" ?
It makes a difference.
If you found this post interesting, you might also like these related posts on this blog:
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