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Post by Mark on Sept 21, 2008 5:11:44 GMT -8
If Adonai promises prosperity to those who serve Him, why am I so poor?
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Post by Prodigal Girl on Sept 21, 2008 14:53:55 GMT -8
Sounds like the guy whining in Psalm 73.
I believe that G-d uses financial adversity to test and teach us. To see what we value most in life. To see what/who we place first. To purify our hearts. He also sometimes has to protect us from ourselves.
What we have in the church, is confusion because of the prosperity doctrine being spread all over by t.v. preachers.
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Post by rlrmcb on Dec 8, 2008 3:38:42 GMT -8
I haven't posted for awhile, but I see no where in the Bible where poor people would be elsewhere, but it also says His seed doesn't beg bread. He provides for our needs, and then some, depending on what we do for a living, how much we make in what we do, and what we do with it. I have seen plenty of rich Christians or Messianic Believers if you prefer according to the world standard. They have a roof over their heads, food on their plates, clothes and proper fitting shoes, and many times have transportation that can go pretty fast. What more do you need other than your wife and kids? Plus, they pay tithe, give a little offering, help support ministries. That is being rich.
If I mismanage my funds which the L-rd has seen fit to allow me to have, it's my fault, not His. Therefore if I learn to manage funds according to His precepts, and His rules, even though I may not have as much as any billionaire you care to name, I am rich. And, you will note that many people who have money, usually have given money in turn at some point. They are not so stingy as to be like the parable which Jesus told, concerning a rich man who had need to build yet even bigger barns.
Admittedly I am learning some of this stuff late in life, and with consequences, but my family is provided for, thanks be to G-d. Therefore I am rich.
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Post by azgdt5120 on Nov 9, 2009 19:22:30 GMT -8
If Adonai promises prosperity to those who serve Him, why am I so poor? This is a sensitive subject to expose about. First what are those scriptures with such promise? Let's discuss them from the original language to seek the real meaning as it's always suggested to be done. If it's something capitalism has done to mankind is distract your heart and mind from seeking the truth of the  . I'm not saying YHWH does not bless the fruit of your work, He's the provider of the intelligence to produce wealth. But another story is to let your heart satisfy your flesh desires to posses material things for several reasons... acceptance, power, greed and the list can go on. |
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Post by azgdt5120 on Nov 30, 2009 16:35:18 GMT -8
Mark could you please expose your opinions on behalf this when you can? Your replies are always appreciated.
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Post by Mark on Dec 4, 2009 4:34:32 GMT -8
A few weeks ago, one of my kids asked me, “Dad, are we poor?”
It’s a funny question and I couldn’t help but appreciate the innocense of it- of not knowing or even considering or wondering how wealth and poverty should rightly be defined.
The truth is that if I made twice as much money as I do today we would still be well under the federal standard for poverty. If I made three times as much we would be quite on the modest side of middle class... and that’s with a family of four (there are twelve people in my household); but when I look at what surrounds me, the food in the refrigerator, the opportunities we have to enjoy, we live rather well.
You know, I never feel poor when I recognize the things that I have and the comforts that I enjoy. It’s when I set my attention on the things that I don’t have but want- when something breaks down that I can’t afford to fix, when I consider the lives of the rich and famous (you know, those people on television who don’t have any real problems because they’re so wealthy).
It seems to me that wealth and poverty is not so much a measurement of what you have so much as it is a measurement of what you don’t have to do without.
I keep on hearing the news as to how the economic recession is hitting the poorest the hardest. I have to admit that when we took a 25% cut in pay last Spring, it meant some major re-evaluating and adjusting priorities. But when I talk to folks who are “better off”, I find that many of them are finding it much harder to cope.
You see, I’m used to telling my children no when they ask for something that is outside of our budget. I’m comfortable with passing things by that I just won’t ever see again. When an unexpected medical bill pops up, it’s a given that I will have to sacrifice something else that I was looking forward to having. So, what poverty means is that my kids spend hours sitting in front of a Playstation 1 instead of a WII 3. It means that dinner out means visiting my parents or friends and bringing along a salad or a dessert. It means that most of my clothes belonged to someone else before me and my car doesn’t turn anyone’s head. It means that I’m not looking and loning for something else to have but trying to make the best of what I’ve got.
There’s no safety net in life- there’s not enough insurance to guarantee that our life of ease will go on forever. It is God who gives and takes away. Maybe being poor just means learning to be comfortable with that.
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Post by azgdt5120 on Dec 12, 2009 13:01:30 GMT -8
I think you and your family lives pretty well compare to what I have lived and seen. YHWH has been wonderfull with us, His mercy is everlasting!
My first post was meant to analize the so called "prosperity doctrine" christianity strongly preaches in these days.
How can they"evangelize" someone by telling them: if you bring money to the altar you make a covenant with God and He will return back to you plenty" How can they constantly manipulates ones with the object of bringing "offerings to God" to get back all His blessings?
The possible scenario I see on this practice is a flesh desire to posses a lifestyle you missed but you did desire from your neighbor (neighbor being the society, culture how ever you want to call it)
This is one of the reasons I left my christian church and started the path to seek the truth Elohim.
This doctrine has caused a major negative impact in many christians, sadly at the point many has returned to their old manners and values.
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Post by Mark on Dec 13, 2009 6:35:10 GMT -8
Right. If you look carefully through on the subject of blessings- your obedience and commitment results as a blessing upon the people, not necessarily the quid pro quo that many are teaching today. This is the perspective that the writers of the New Testament would have- writers who never saw or presumed a faith to be defined outside the perameters of Judaism. |
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