“Pastor, why do some people accuse pastors of taking advantage of church members and their money?”
I’m not going to pretend as though I do not understand what those people mean, many fraudsters have adopted ministry as a business in the name of collecting tithes and offerings, and it’s not hard to discern that such “pastors” are not called by Jesus. By their fruits, you shall know them.
However, the fact that there are fakes simply tells us that there are also originals, those who are genuinely called by Jesus. From experience, those who are genuinely called have no interest in material possessions, let alone that which belongs to those they are called to serve. They strive to be financially independent while they serve the purposes of God. Apostle Paul explains this better; let’s read from scriptures:
2 Corinthians 12:
13 For what is it wherein ye were inferior to other churches, except it be that I myself was not burdensome to you? forgive me this wrong.
14 Behold, the third time I am ready to come to you; and I will not be burdensome to you: for I seek not yours, but you: for the children ought not to lay up for the parents, but the parents for the children.
15 And I will very gladly spend and be spent for you; though the more abundantly I love you, the less I be loved.
16 But be it so, I did not burden you: nevertheless, being crafty, I caught you with guile.
17 Did I make a gain of you by any of them whom I sent unto you?
Notice in verse 13 that it was a system of the church back then to carry the material burdens of their man of God, which explains why Apostle Paul had to apologize to them for not allowing them meet his material needs. He didn’t want to be a burden to them; instead, he gave them from that which he had.
Clearly, Apostle Paul understood the law of transformational wealth. This law only permits you to receive a harvest after you’ve sown. This means that if my teachings have transformed your life, then it’s only natural for me to be a beneficiary of the blessings. Ofcourse it’s not a must, but only an ungrateful person would fail to reward the person who God used to transformed his or her life.
Transformational wealth is the wealth you gather through your investment in people over time. For many years now, I’ve invested my time and resources to being a blessing to people – transforming lives by the things l share. I’ve authored close to sixty books of which all are freely available for download on my website, a website which I pay for hosting yearly. I had the option to sell those books, so that I can at least keep up with the payment for hosting the website. Asides the cost of hosting the website yearly, it also costs money to create those ebooks. And these are not just books, they are direct inspirations from God, capable of initiating instant transformation in a person’s life. Those who have read my books can testify.
These are sacrifices I’ve had to make for years, yet many of you would not know except that I just mentioned it. So when you see people sow seeds into our lives, don’t be too quick to judge, we invested first.
Make no mistake, asides that we get rewards from those we invest in, God also has a way of rewarding us for our labour of love. This means that even if those we invest in don’t return with appreciation, we would still be blessed. It’s like what Apostle Paul said to the Phillipians. Let’s read from scriptures:
Philippians 4:
15 Now ye Philippians know also, that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church communicated with me as concerning giving and receiving, but ye only.
16 For even in Thessalonica ye sent once and again unto my necessity.
17 Not because I desire a gift: but I desire fruit that may abound to your account.
So you see, it’s actually for their own good if they return with gratitude. This also means that no pastor or man of God should force any member to give if they are not willing. Don’t preach a prosperity message just because you want members to sow seeds, preach it because you want their eyes to be enlightenment.
Somebody recently sent me a message saying “Sir, thank you for all you do, you’re a blessing to the body of Christ”. There is no day that I don’t receive messages like that. Honestly, even if I don’t want to be rich, it’s too late.
As I conclude, my birthday was a few weeks ago, and I was amazed how people sent financial gifts to me. I have never had it in that fashion. It clearly meant that the investment is beginning to produce results. Believe me, people are not daft, if it’s not working, you won’t get a thing. The testimonies I’ve received both from God and man this year is alarming, that’s because the investment is speaking.
So, before you judge, check our investments.
I hope this has brought enlightenment to someone.
Remain ever blessed, in Jesus precious name!
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