By Nneka Okumazie
If the church needs money, a pastor tells the people to contribute, but if an individual needs money, the pastor says pray. Why?
This logic is used as a critical question against the Christian faith in recent times. The question assumes that if people give in church, the church should give them back, or that a pastor requesting contributions for church projects is the first to do so and there are no scriptural precedents.
If anyone is genuinely saved, the great privilege of change and new creature in Christ is enough motivation to be a part of spreading the gospel, in giving and in presence.
The Christian faith, operated in the physical, is spiritual mores. The giving most times in the scriptures did not come back through the fellowship. The blessings of the Lord came from what an individual did, and the mercy of the Lord provided coverage in blindsided areas, or areas they didn’t cover.
The Christian faith can be argued and countered with thoughts and logic, but God is a spirit and there are lots of things beyond anyone’s curiosity.
Yes, questions are good. It is fine to have them, ask them, find out and make progress. But there are some things one does not just know. There are things that are operational that people can’t see. There are influences, voices, patterns, etc. in places, or following some people that no one understands. There are things from many years ago, still wrong with people, regardless of new experiences.
If someone cheats a vulnerable person, who trusted, out of hard earned money, the cheat is cursed, whether pronounced or not. The cheat may be rich and physically fine at the time, but the pain and hurt the cheat caused will come back in a way, sooner or later.
Curses are real. Consequences are real. It is possible to argue against them. It is possible to cite examples no curse or consequence with all that evil, but they are real, traceable or not, obvious or not, known or unknown.
There are several situations in life where people don’t just know where something is coming from. Yes, not everything is a curse or consequence, but better to flee from whatever would bring a curse.
The blood of Jesus washes from sin. The mercy of the Lord prevails, but no one can go into sin, counting on God’s mercy to prevent the consequence.
A mighty champion that was matchlessly strong found grace until he said what he should not say, got his hair cut and God departed, divvying him a devastatingly painful, inglorious end.
For genuine Christians, there is no alternative to total obedience to God. There is also watch, pray, test every spirit and holiness.
Anyone can adjust their style as they see fit, but there is no true Christianity that aligns with sin.
Aside sin, it is also important to fear the Lord – so much that one does not want to disappoint Him.
Yes, there are people who say whatever they want about the Lord, or think whatever they want, or believe whatever they want, etc. and they seem get no repercussions. But, those trying to know Him, must revere Him.
People often go to war. Some choose to go to war with the Lord, but no one knows Him – that close. So what is the delusion of trying to war with the Lord – they don’t know?
His ways, His thoughts, what He chooses to do, how expansive His reach is, etc. is unknown to all, except revealed. And except the Lord wants, He can never be – exactly – predicted.
[Habakkuk 1:2, O Lord, how long shall I cry, and Thou wilt not hear! [even] cry out unto Thee [of] violence, and Thou wilt not save!]
[Habakkuk 2:1, I will climb up to my watchtower and stand at my guardpost. There I will wait to see what the Lord says and how He will answer my complaint.]
It is great to focus on the Lord, to believe Him and trust Him.
[Matthew 6:22, The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.]
[Matthew 6:23, But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great [is] that darkness!]
The knowledge of the world will always tend with logic. People will bring unconnected comparisons to a situation to discredit it. But all the ways of the Lord are unknown to everyone.
It is easy to get carried away. It is easy to judge by sight. But the limitations of humans are not always acknowledged.
There are people who are enemies of others, who don’t even know they’re enemies. There are advices of how the world does it, or how to beat certain stuff, or some kind of bluntness that are counterproductive.
The only friend is Jesus. No matter how present He seems or does not, at whatever time, it is better to have the Christianity of Jesus, with fear and trembling.
Sometimes, the pass mark of the Lord is antithetic of the comfort of the world – defying logic.
[Judges 7:5, When Gideon took his warriors down to the water, the Lord told him, “Divide the men into two groups. In one group put all those who cup water in their hands and lap it up with their tongues like dogs. In the other group put all those who kneel down and drink with their mouths in the stream.”]
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