Man Cannot Live on Bread Alone

Daily Meditation 659–12/17/2023

“Man cannot live by bread alone,” but IDK — Banana bread is pretty damned good, though…

Anyone who’s read the Daily Meditations for some time understands they are not inherently “religious” in tone, per se. But there are great lessons we can learn from religion, more generally, if one can put aside their disdain for it, their personal history from it, and their politics.

In the Bible, Matthew 4:4, Jesus tells us “man cannot live on bread alone,” and He then goes on to finish it with “but he lives on every word that proceedeth from the mouth of God.”

For Christians, the meaning is very clear and I won’t elaborate.

But, “man cannot live on bread alone” holds a message for us all, whomever says it.

Imagine being imprisoned in solitary confinement. The crime doesn’t matter, here, but use your imagination. You’ve been convicted to a life sentence, you’re perhaps 20 years old, and you’ll be locked away in solitary until you die.

Every day, you wake up at a time unknown. It’s a dark, gunmetal grey in the 10x10 cell without windows. Aside from your cot, the stainless toilet and sink, and the four walls, there’s nothing. No light, other than the dim fluorescents beaming in through your door’s 6"x6" shatterproof glass “window.” You get no books, no letters in here.