Mortification of the appetite, is the most basic aspect of spiritual life. Whoever cannot control himself in this, will hardly be able to conquer temptations more difficult to subdue. We're probably the generation that has never accumulated so much and yet possessed so little. We have wider roads and narrower viewpoints. We learn more and understand less.
Human beings seem to be one of the few commodities that lose value with age.
In fact, if church groups were asked to organize a team of 12 to help Jesus, assessments of candidates would be based on factors like race, skill, knowledge. Just as well God chose to work through a ragged band of Galiean peasants, called from their fishing nets, small plots of land and humble trades. Even their probable poor literacy was no stumbling block for God. God puts a measuring tape around the heart, not the head. We need willing learners with big hearts, people who will risk everything at Jesus' word.