Humbling experiences

I wanted to take this transparent time in my life to have a very candid conversation, as candid as is expedient. My pastor has said on several occasions, “Just because you see something with your eyes doesn’t make it so. Always look at all things through the lens of the scriptures.” I wasn’t quite sure at the time how you reconcile seeing something with your own eyes, being able touch it, taste it, and feel it and yet discount it. I mean seeing is believing, right? I’ll even take it one step further and suggest even if you feel you’ve investigated it, and believe you are still seeing the same thing, if it doesn’t line up with scripture then you need to proceed with extreme caution, or even leave it alone altogether. I recently had a situation that seemed too good to be true. I researched it, did what I thought was my due diligence only to find out that what I thought was legitimate turned out to be counterfeit. This principle can be applied to every aspect of our life. My particular situation was a business venture. I am thankful to God that He put a bit of wisdom in me that stated don’t move on this until you have absolute clearance. Let me simply say this, I pray that it will bless someone, we have many teachers out there telling us about money falling from the sky, coming from nowhere, and calling it the blessings of God. We may even have those who speak from the Old Testament about Israel receiving land, homes, and vineyards by which they had nothing to do with obtaining and not because they were deserving- it was something He chose to do. You don’t see this principle laced throughout scripture so be careful about a teaching derived from one scripture and not the whole scripture of God. We have way more scriptures in the bible that speak about earning a living, God’s distaste for slothfulness, and God’s admonition against unholy gain. We are reminded in the New Testament that he who doesn’t work is not to eat as well as we are to work six days and rest one. God’s intention was and always will be that we work for what we get in order to truly appreciate and benefit from His bountiful blessings.  


Counterfeit anything is FAKE, no matter how you slice it. This is not meant to put God in a box or eliminate His ability to do whatever He wants, it’s simply an encouragement to look toward scripture ensuring that you embrace the heart and spirit of it. Can God bless you financially in a way in which you had nothing to do with? Absolutely, He is God. The issue isn’t, is He able, the question is what is His pattern and which is safer to place your faith on an instance or His consistent nature? The answer is the whole scripture and not one instance. And trust me it’s not just the babes in Christ who may find themselves hood-winked. 

On the internet there are promises of business opportunities, ways for you to make money by doing little of nothing, individuals promising you that they will involve you in wonderful pyramid businesses and we jump, because it’s made to sound like easy money. Let’s face it, there are some who make money on those projects, but the vast majority, don’t. Always seek God’s face on any business venture you are endeavoring to embark on. Look for absolute peace. If you have any apprehensions you wait until all apprehension is gone. Be like Gideon (Judges 6-7), ask God to do what only He can do to reassure your next move. This may take longer than you want, but trust me better to be safe than sorry.

 Don’t stop at business ventures look for counterfeit in all areas of your life:  

 

• Friends (clearly understand the definition of a friend) 

• Careers/Jobs 

• Spouses (be clear that you understand what is expected of both partners and be sure you and that person are living examples of the expectations) 

• Churches (Don’t fall for just any church, especially, don’t let the choir be your litmus test. Make sure the teaching is sound. This means you must be sound in scripture or at the very least be willing to research what you’re being taught.) 

Financial Decisions – (Ensure that God is leading you as to how to spend, save, and invest your money.)

Once again this list is not meant to be exhaustive it’s meant to be instructive and encouraging, for some even confirmation.