CHRISTIAN POVERTY

This topic might seem a little bit weird because I couldn’t think of any other title for the topic.

I will be using our country (Nigeria) as an example. I remember having a conversation with some persons when someone said that, the poorest people in Nigeria are the northerners, I didn’t argue but I said that from 1960 till now we have had more rulers who are from the north; not only in presidency but in all other government offices. If we check out our ministers we’ll find a lot of northerners; we have enough wealthy malams even Africa’s richest man is from northern Nigeria. But why is it that the Christians are not so solid in the government (No religious segregation please). We see a lot of persons on the road begging and we believe they are northerners, but (am sorry to say) most Christians are not any better. Many have rents unpaid, no food to eat, no good clothes to wear, all they do is borrow or beg; they look for those who will give to them for free and yet these people go to church, how will people see God in their lives, are they any different from beggars. God said he will bless whoever he wants; well, I can’t question that but if it’s so then I will say God is being selective(no beef).

If there’s a little provision from God for the people I believe it will help keep them in cool relationship with God. So many rich people worldwide can tell you that God didn’t give them money but that they worked for it and earned it. Christians have worked real hard but nothing, they have been told to pray; that God gives; they have prayed but God didn’t give them they live on scratches. Many rich fellows are out there who don’t want to hear about God, they don’t pay tithes or offering to anyone but they are prosperous; the Christian on the other hand, is striving to feed his family and when he comes to church he gets the sermon that he is cheating God if he doesn’t pay his tithe; please give him a break, who is cheating who here? Will the church pay his debts, will they feed his family of cause they wouldn’t, and even our so called churches are not helping matters (we’ll come to that).

With this problem won’t this fellow go and search for other means of money, his condition makes him vulnerable to bad counsels, this will make him fall out of faith; the devil gives you a cap and takes your head, he would not remember that because he’s soaked in poverty. Once the devil can give him what he wants then changes his faith immediately. Sometimes, it doesn’t have to be the devil, it could be; getting himself in some illegal deals or fraudulent business and once he makes the money his on his way to destruction and God will be the last thing to remember.

A man of God said “If prayer was the solution to poverty, prayer warriors would not be poor”. In psalms David said he has seen the young lion hunger but he had never seen the righteous beg for food; well there are so many righteous begging for food today, we are mortals, let’s tell ourselves the truth. If the man dies tomorrow and appears before God, God sends him to hell for not serving him well but did God forget that this man has served him for awhile now and has been crying and begging for provision while on earth? That’s not fair (no beefing please), how would you take it if you were judged like that? Well, I don’t think you even have any right to express yourself because God might just mute you immediately (no pleads). This is one of the major problems facing Christians today.

God cannot wait for you but you have to wait for him. God doesn’t have to unleash the treasures of heaven to bombard us cause most people don’t want that but at least provision of the needs is necessary. I am not against God, I can’t be but there should be a contradistinction between God’s people and the world at large.

Today in our churches even the pastors are not making it any better for us, they preach prosperity, tithes and offering, blessings of Abraham but when last did they talk about God’s judgment, when last did they preach repentance and rapture. They also contribute solely to the hurts in the life of their members, they fill their pockets and empty yours they tell you pray for God to bless you or they tell you to donate to the church building. Members are running dry some are already dried up, looking sick but not sick, no food to eat; are the pastors not seeing these things. Their greed has blinded them. I know T.B Joshua as a giver, I do not care what people say about him either he’s fake pastor or not, I do not know, let God judge us all, stop speaking evil about him, we do not know who he is all I know is that he is the most generous man of God I have seen.

The church has contributed in the lives of its members in a bad way as well as in a good way. Our pastors we put hopes on have at last disappointed us. The church today only choose the rich as men of God even after knowing that they were not called by God only for you to contribute to their lives. Pastors are supposed to be leaders who will cry with us, who will pray to God on our behalf but today it’s a different story to tell. Today you have to pay certain money to see the pastor and even fill forms just to speak to the pastor. Look, have the pastors contributed positively to your life?

Finally, on Sunday may 4 2014, the RCCG Sunday school manual’s topic was “Cure for a wounded soldier”. I raised a question on this topic, which was: IS POVERTY AN INJURY FOR A SOLDIER OF CHRIST?

Unfortunately, they replied no, I was surprised. From that topic I read that one cure for a wounded soldier is by determining the source of the injury. I also made it clear that poverty is a source of injury but they disagreed. The topic said that these injuries could be: disappointment, depression, dejection, destruction, temptation and stealing etc. now with these few I will like to explain to you that poverty is the source of these injuries. I said earlier that, when a man is soaked in poverty he doesn’t remember the harm the devil would do to him as long as he gets what he wants.

Now allow me to emphasize one after the these injuries and their strong relationship with Poverty

DISAPPOINTMENT: What do you think causes disappointment? Disappointment can be defined as a feeling of sadness because something has not happened. A Christian who has been praying for years but still has not gotten what he asked, prays more but nothing happens his patience is running out he tries again but nothing. At this point he is disappointed; this disappointment leads him into the next.

DEPRESSION: Depression simply means being sad and without hope; being unable to sleep not just because of disappointment but lack of satisfaction. At this point he believes all hope is lost he then moves to the next stage.

DEJECTION: Whenever ever you see him you know that this person is going through a whole lot of mess. He is so full of unhappiness, no reason to smile, nothing to smile about. After hopeless thinking he graduates.

TEMPTATION: Now, many thoughts fly through his mind, not just thoughts but negative thoughts, making him confused. He would end up concluding that he has to he has to survive the hard way. He doesn’t want to die poor. Finally, he concludes with the next.

STEALING: We all know what this is, if care is not on his side he advances in more advanced stealing methods like, 419, yahoo boys, ritualism etc. then finally

DESTRUCTION: This happens to be the beginning of the end of his life because of poverty except God would jump in and……..save the day.

In conclusion not too long, the church should start doing much more than they are doing for the members than asking them to pay tithes and offering and exploiting them. The members of the church are the church because with people in the building there would be no church. Let the church stop depopulating God’s kingdom and start populating it by practicing what Jesus did so that the people can stop blaming God…

We are not immortals but mortals who are weak are depending on certain things for survival and God knows it……………..