I'm baaaaaack!!!!!!!!

Ooookay. I was minding my own business eating lunch on a Saturday at some Mom & Pop in WI near Oshkosh, and there was a guy holding court with six or seven sycophants across from me at the breakfast bar (horseshoe shaped arrangement). At first I thought it was an Amway guy with his goons but he kept going on and on about God says this and that and God wants you to do this and God will punish you if you don't do that and you better submit to His authority and since I'm His voice you better be doing what I tell you and that means filling.g that hat when it's passed around. And how dare you hold on to your money you need to tithe blah blah blah. He got my attention when he started talking about money being the root of all evil. That one pricked up my ears.

(Gotta finish later, my food just got here).

 

Sorry (burp). Anyhow he starts in on Malachi 3:10 meaning that if you tithe God will bless you but if you don't give til it hurts God will find a way to punish you and your kids blah blah. And money is the root of all evil. He was working himself up pretty good and talked about how much Jesus hated money, and his goons were hanging on every word, and he kept going back to money being the root of all evil. Then in his fervor he pointed at me and said something about how money could ruin an honest hardworking man like me--and that's when I asked him where in his Bible it said anything about money being the root of evil. He froze and stared at me, wide eyed, mouth frozen open with the yet-unspoken word settling back into his throat. I offered him five hundred dollars if he could physically show me a verse in his Bible that said money is the root of all evil. He began to glower at me, and I asked before he could speak again if he could show me a single scripture that supported his assertion that Jesus hated money. I now had an audience consisting of his little flock, another driver at the end of the bar, and the waitress, so I continued before he could start talking.

"I haven't been a trucker my whole life. I was a Bible scholar in my youth and I am still a practicing Christian. I know whom I have served, and you, sir, are most definitely not His voice on earth or anyplace else. The truth is that while Jesus did run the money changers out of the temple, it was because they were twisting the scriptures and using the church to get people to do what they said and get as much money as they could. Kind of like what's going on today. When His disciples were arguing about who was greatest, he didn't yell at them. He told them how to be great. He showed them how, by being a servant. He didn't hate money, but he didn't make a huge deal out of it either. When the preachers of the day tried to play gotcha with him by asking if it was right to pay taxes or tithe, he hit them back with a curve by telling them to "render unto Caesar what is Caesar's, and unto God what is God's." That didn't mean only money, but EVERYTHING--obey the law and pay your taxes but make God your priority. That statement in the original language alludes to the point of Malachi 3:10: bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and test me now in this: that I will open the storehouse of Heaven and pour out upon you a blessing such as you will not be able to contain. That was talking about His people feeding and providing for His ministers so they could be about doing His work, which was part of the point of the tithe and still is. It isn't a threat; it's encouragement for everyone to do their part to support the ministers and the infrastructure of the church, so it's all available to bless the people. While I'm in a scrappy mood, I'm going to give you the answer to my little challenge about money and the root of evil. Money can't be evil. Money builds hospitals, pays doctors, feeds the hungry, clothes and shelters the poor, money even put that Rolex Presidential on your wrist and bought those nice cuff links you're sporting. The scripture says that the LOVE of money is the root of every kind of evil, and the word for love in the Greek means to put a highest priority upon. Its the same word Jesus used when he talked about how anyone who loves Him must hate us mother and father. It means you can only have one priority in your heart, and you can't make that money. Money is a means to an end, and when you make it an end in itself, that is the root of every kind of evil...including using the Bible and the church to browbeat people into filling your bank account."

(Quote paraphrased from memory)

I laid money on the table and got up to leave as he stared red-faced at me. His posse was looking collectively more and more pensive throughout my rant, and that's what I wanted.

When I got to the foyer, he caught up with me, grabbing my arm and yanking me around with no small amount of force. He demanded to know who I thought I was, messing up his Bible study like that. I told him he had done that for himself and it would be a good idea to let me go. He went back into preacher mode, saying he was protected by angels and they would smite me if I dared to raise a hand to him.

I smote him.

Actually I reversed his hold on my arm, bumped him up against the wall, and slapped his face when he rebounded. He dropped like a sack of wet mice (I slapped him hard).

As he lay there groaning I leaned over and whispered that I was not a pile of ashes yet, and he would be wise not to throw weight around he doesn't have. Then I left him.

I really hate when people usurp authority they don't have and slander the character of my God by using His Name in their power and money grabs.

That's all...return to your lives. And DON'T send me any money; I don't need it. My God can do what He needs to without bankrupting anybody.

#HatesFakePreachers

 

Yeah...too bad those guys are so visible; they give true believers at the pulpit a Bad Name. Nobody ever hears about the guy who gives up time with his own family to rush over to someone's house and spend the evening praying over their sick child, or comforts the widow, or opens his own home to a troubled teen, etc.

The Wisdom of the Ages says that to whom much is given, much will be required. Guys in minesterial positions are gonna have to answer for more than the average Joe.

(Above assumes you share my faith; if you do not, that's fine and I don't mean any offense or omission. I'm nobody's judge--I'm simply not qualified)

 

You are a great fighter, but you cannot beat my tiger style! Hyaaaargh!!!!!