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Born Worthy
Sep. 27th, 2009 08:22 amI can assure you, W, that the time will come when you, too, will ask, "In what fields did I sow seeds to deserve so very, very much?"
Then I'll remind you that the whole sowing-seeds-cause-and-effect concept was just a myth, because you were born deserving.
Hosanna in the Highest,
The Universe (www.tut.com)
P.S. Yeah, should've told you a long time ago, W. My bad.
Growing up in the pentecostal church, I would often hear ministers exhort us to "sow a seed". If we wanted financial blessings from God, the key to opening up the floodgates was to give some of our little bit of money "to God". They used the second part of Malachi 3:10 to justify this idea. "[Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house.] Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it. [NIV]" Inspired by dreams of being able to pay off all of their debts all at once, going on that vacation they could not afford (but desperately needed) on their minimum wage jobs, or having enough money so they would no longer have to rob Peter to pay Paul, the faithful would rush forward to put their meagre dollars into the offering. And when that financial breakthrough did not come right away, they would reason it away by saying something like,"It must not be God's time, yet."
I suppose it was always God's time for the "man of God" to have extra money in his pocket, eh?
(I'm not saying he shouldn't ask for money; I'm saying he should ask for it honestly. Say you need the money to feed your family, make your rent/mortgage...or pay for that Cadillac you have your eye on. Stop trying to romanticize your genuine needs and your vain desires by invoking God.)
When I read that recent post from www.tut.com, I remembered the dishonesty of those exhortations to sow a seed. Depleting our already dry coffers does not make us worthy of a blessing; we have always been worthy. There is no quick fix, no "secret" to financial success, God or no God. I suspect many of those ministers exhorting folks to sow a seed knew that, which makes their requests all the more despicable.
Then I'll remind you that the whole sowing-seeds-cause-and-effect concept was just a myth, because you were born deserving.
Hosanna in the Highest,
The Universe (www.tut.com)
P.S. Yeah, should've told you a long time ago, W. My bad.
Growing up in the pentecostal church, I would often hear ministers exhort us to "sow a seed". If we wanted financial blessings from God, the key to opening up the floodgates was to give some of our little bit of money "to God". They used the second part of Malachi 3:10 to justify this idea. "[Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house.] Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it. [NIV]" Inspired by dreams of being able to pay off all of their debts all at once, going on that vacation they could not afford (but desperately needed) on their minimum wage jobs, or having enough money so they would no longer have to rob Peter to pay Paul, the faithful would rush forward to put their meagre dollars into the offering. And when that financial breakthrough did not come right away, they would reason it away by saying something like,"It must not be God's time, yet."
I suppose it was always God's time for the "man of God" to have extra money in his pocket, eh?
(I'm not saying he shouldn't ask for money; I'm saying he should ask for it honestly. Say you need the money to feed your family, make your rent/mortgage...or pay for that Cadillac you have your eye on. Stop trying to romanticize your genuine needs and your vain desires by invoking God.)
When I read that recent post from www.tut.com, I remembered the dishonesty of those exhortations to sow a seed. Depleting our already dry coffers does not make us worthy of a blessing; we have always been worthy. There is no quick fix, no "secret" to financial success, God or no God. I suspect many of those ministers exhorting folks to sow a seed knew that, which makes their requests all the more despicable.
