Time for everything

Time for everything

 

A shepherd knows when it is time to feed the sheep, and when it is time to stop the feeding. A shepherd knows when it is salt time, when it is water time, when it is time to keep them in the barn, and when it is time to let them run free in the field. There is a proper time for everything and the shepherd does what is in the best interest of the sheep and himself, not necessarily what the sheep think is in their best interest. That is why the good shepherd has a stick in his hand. The stick is in the hand of the shepherd to make the sheep do what is in their best interest, though the sheep do not know it.

 

Imagine you find a man of God serving in a remote location in poverty without a collection of contributions for his spiritual service. Or imagine holy people who live by the word of God and who imitate Jesus while accepting poverty as their destiny and thinking life of poverty is what is expected of holy people. Telling those people that faithful are not supposed to be poor, as a child of the king of kings does not live in poverty, may be good shepherding. Letting them know that God can bless them and nothing is impossible to God, as long as they seek the kingdom of God first is good shepherding. It is even shameful that a servant of the lord has to go hungry while providing spiritual food to everyone. If he invests in your spirit, it is not much to harvest from your flesh. In this setting, such kind of sheepherding is the right kind and I am sure this is what the lord loves to see.

 

Now let us change the time. Imagine you live in a generation with a high level of moral decay. Imagine you live in a generation where crimes and sins are spreading like wildfire and love of money is the major source of this problem. The faithful are so dark, you cannot see Jesus in their life and there is no salt in their life. When you go to government offices, you avoid the faithful because they are the most corrupt in the office. Everywhere you go people are chasing money and the love of money is becoming the source of almost all evil in and outside the church. Now what does a good shepherd feed to the sheep, in this time? More love of money, wealth, health, and prosperity?

 

Let us think of two lions. One lion is a beast of the jungle and is meant for a zoo. Do you teach hunting to this lion? Hunting is its nature and you have to focus on how to tame him. Pushing his hunting instinct to the limit is neither good for him nor for everyone around him. Now imagine a lion who grows up in a zoo and who behaves like a dog. This lion is planned to be set free in the jungle and you teach him hunting. You try to ignite his nature so it can survive in the wild. It is evil at worst and stupid at best trying to train this lion as a house pet anymore. 

 

Now when you have wild beasts for faithful in your churches, when you have people who jump 5 centimeters when you praise Jesus and who jump 2 meters when you bless them, people who sleep when you preach love and humility but who jump 100 meters for miracle money, what do you teach them? What kind of training is needed for this wild beast, who does not know its right from its left?

 

Should people come to church to run from the sinful world and revitalize their dying spiritual fire or they should be preached about money and wealth in church too? Do you expect prosperity when everyone is a criminal, without morality and ethics? Do you expect development, when you have to fear the police as much as the criminal? Do you expect joyful life when corruption is rampant and love of money is the source of all problems? Yes, poverty will come following their sinful way, but do you teach those corrupt poor people about money, wealth, and prosperity anymore? You see a fire burning and destroying a city, do you add more fuel to it?

 

If what people think and dream 24/7 is about money, wealth, and health, teach them about ethics, morality, justice, fairness, love, honesty, faith, hope, and all in all to imitate Jesus in life. When a sheep has too much salt, you force her toward the water. Because that is what the sheep need not more salt. When they are out of the church, what they think, talk, and dream about is money, health, and wealth. What is the purpose of talking all the time about money, health, and wealth 24/7 in churches? Is it the proper time?

 

Even when you say “Seek the kingdom of heaven and everything else should be added to you”, your presentation should be in a way that honors heaven and down-value this earth, implying health, wealth, and prosperity. You should not instrument the kingdom of God and love of the Kingdom of God as access to an ATM card and its password. That is not the message of the bible. You are not expected to hate money and love God, but you are expected to worship God and look down on money. Look down on all material things, health, wealth, and prosperity as nothing except for the kingdom of God, and then everything will be added to you as the lord sees it fit. Worshiping the lord and looking down on everything earthly as unimportant is the message of the bible.