Luke 3: Two Shirts

Luke 3 introduces us to the work of John the Baptizer. He was called to prepare the way for the Messiah, Jesus,  and called people to change.

But what did John tell them to do?

Two things. First, they were to change their hearts. The Christian term, repentance, means just that. John called people to have a change of attitude toward God and his coming Messiah.

Second, John called people to change their actions. Specifically, he addressed what I call the “two shirts” principle.

When his audience asked him, “What should we do?” John answered, “Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same.”

Those “with” help those “without.” The contemporary applications of this are humbling to say the least. I have a whole closet of clothes while many around the world have little or nothing to wear. Sounds like I have some closet cleaning to do.

The same is true of food. Most Americans throw away more food than many of those in the developing world consumes. If we were to simply eat what we needed and no more, we could help a lot more people with their needs.

Of course, this two shirts idea applies to money, clothes, books, cars, phones, and much more. Speaking of which, I don’t own an iPad, so if you have two (especially now that the latest version is now out), you can email me and I’ll pay to have your old one shipped my way 🙂

On a more serious note, John is clear we are not called to consumerism but to contentment. We all have a long way to go, myself included. Apply accordingly.

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Dillon Burroughs has written, co-written, or edited over 60 books, including the upcoming devotional work Thirst No More (October 2011). He served as an associate editor for The Apologetics Study Bible for Students and is a graduate of Dallas Theological Seminary. Find out more at DillonBurroughs.org.