You Freely Received, So Freely Give

This is a verse that stays with me.
 
Matthew 10:8: “Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received without paying; give without pay.”
 
The passage goes on to say, in verses 9-10: “Acquire no gold or silver or copper for your belts, no bag for your journey, or two tunics or sandals or a staff, for the laborer deserves his food.” (ESV) This implies that we are to trust in God for our provisions, and through the blessings of those who follow him and who host us, but there’s a difference between accepting provisions and amassing wealth. What happens when our focus shifts from doing the work of the Lord to making a living doing work in the name of the Lord?
 

That scripture in Matthew often cruises through my mind as I go about writing, creating, or serving in ministry—doing anything, really. It nudges me while listening to ministers or prophets online. Maybe it’s just me, but more often, it seems like a lot of these platforms—although perhaps uniquely speaking the word of God—have become just as much donation platforms. I tend to stop watching them then because that never-ending push for donations and support doesn’t compete with the latter part of Matthew 10:8 that circulates in my head.

 

I think there’s a difference between when God chooses to bless you financially (making you financially accountable to do with those riches what God would instruct to further His Kingdom), and pursuing financial gain based on effort or merit, in a kind of entitlement, or desiring more stuff or better and more beautiful everything. Wealth isn’t necessarily bad, but it comes with a lot of responsibility and a different set of problems.

 

Yes, we’re children of the King, a royal priesthood of Christ’s work, but our “kingdom come” is in Heaven. God established tithing to help provide food and basic provisions for the full-time temple priests (pastors) whose inheritances were not in having or working land (Numbers 18:21-24). Priests followed God’s leading, and they weren’t to seek material gain.

 

Prophets of the Old Testament often lived simply and tended to have nomadic lifestyles where they depended on God’s provision by way of the land, drinking from brooks and, as is the case with Elijah, depended on the ravens God directed to bring him food (1 Kings 17:4).

 

I’m not implying that poverty is meant to be our lot, but there’s more Biblical evidence to be content with simplicity, living with less, and to avoid the monetary gain (Hebrew 13:5).

 

The Apostle Paul, who was a traveling minister with no permanent home, depended on the hospitality of others. Yet even he at times didn’t accept support, because he didn’t want to be a burden. So he then chose to work odd jobs (tent making anyone?) to eat and drink and maybe keep a decent pair of sandals with which to continue the Great Commission. His teaching affirms that workers deserve pay, such as what we read in 1 Corinthians 9:7-10; however, ministers would do better to serve with a focus on others’ spiritual needs over their own comfort.

 

Our dear Lord and Savior, the only one of whom we are to truly emulate, spoke a word or two about sustenance. Jesus replied in Luke 9:58: “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”

 

Jesus lived a modest life, which contrasts with what we can witness today in many spiritual leaders, pastors, and prophets. I’ve seen a few prophets whose anointing is like the mantle of Esther, which is cool, but then they take it to another degree by dressing the part… like royalty… and live luxuriously while repetitively petition for money to support their lifestyles…er… ministries. Christ emphasized self-sacrifice, humility, modesty, and dependence on the Father for provisions—and he will provide our every need. If God wants to bless his children, he just does it and it’s not based on works as is illustrated in The Parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard (Matthew 20).

 

So when I get badgered (an honest word) for not asking for more, not following the trend or route of the modern-day minister or prophet, I think to myself: And this badgering is supposed make me want to turn around and badger others to support me with their donations? No thank you. I practice the Golden Rule. If I don’t like being distractingly asked for donations with every prophetic word from a servant’s mouth, I’m not going to do that to other people.

 

I have a YouTube channel that, right from the get-go, I was advised to strive to get as many subscribers, or a certain number of views, as I can so I can get monetized. Maybe there’s something wrong with me, but I could care less about monetizing. That was not my goal or focus. In fact, I prefer anonymity there because it’s not about me, and the Holy Spirit told me to do that channel that way. Still, I don’t care to even ask for contributions. To me it feels like peddling the Gospel. What I do is a personal sacrifice, but it’s a ministry. And the word of God is free. Yet, through it I’ve grown in my prophetic gift and intercession. I’ve leaned into the Lord even more, studying his Word, and have come to know his voice more intimately. For me, that’s priceless. I’m not a people-person socially, but I have a quiet love for people, and I adore my Creator. He asked me to do this, and I was obedient. That’s not to say that it’s been easy or well-supported. Sometimes it feels like there are forces (even nearby) that would like to crush it. It takes a lot of carved-out time and effort, sometimes a fight, to do each video, from prayerfully writing out the messages, finding images, animated clips, creating a color theme, finding and syncing music, etc. That doesn’t include the time spent in intercession or warfare before I even begin some of these message videos. Not everybody understands. I take it seriously, and a few videos are uncomfortably relatable or heavy-duty, but I follow through, and after I post I leave the rest to Providence.

 

So when I’m told that I’m “not doing it right” because I’m not asking for likes, shares, and to subscribe. And when I’m asked, “Why not?”, it’s because I trust the intelligence of viewers to do what they want or however they feel led. I started out asking for likes or shares, because I saw everyone else doing that and it was all new to me, so I was unsure, but that part never sat well with me. In fact, I hated it. People know how to like or subscribe to something, don’t they? They don’t need me to urge them. Give me genuine followers if any at all. Marketing in any form makes me cringe. I’ll do what God wants me to do, but I haven’t heard his voice on that part of it. As well as moving into other platforms that are for shorts, really. I’m not insta-anything; I’m quite a slow and methodical person and what I do and how I work reflects that. I’ve never felt that I’m meant to conquer the world and become the greatest influencer. I give words to whoever the Lord would have in mind, who he said he would bring, and share them accordingly. But I’m most drawn (as the Lord knows) to giving spiritual encouragement to the individuals who have more of my heart: the loners and voiceless or those more on the fringe. On a personal note, if something is mainstream, I tend to distrust it. Besides, it’s not sexy if everybody is doing it.

 

So you may have noticed that I shared on here a blog post announcing another new YouTube channel with a fresh video about a week ago. But I removed it after opposition. An argument over the pursuit of popularity and algorithms, monetization and seeking profit. The same old contention. I was frustrated and kind of sick of that whole thing and the naysayers speaking such things into my ear. Do I really want to keep going down this road? Well, yeah, it’s a ministry. I plan to repost the content, as I feel God would want me to continue in this direction at this time, I’m just unsure of the platform from where to share it. I’m prayerfully considering options and will keep you updated on that. I may just put it back up the way it was, but I think I need air before I do. I’d appreciate your prayers if you feel so led.

 

In fact, I want to take this opportunity to thank those who, without my invitation, have supported me with a kind word, a steady like (I warmly recognize you by the Spirit), or share. They go a long way with me, you have no idea (actually, I think maybe you do). I’m uplifted by God’s children who reach out with their words of encouragement and testimonies from time to time. For me, that’s payment enough. God has always taken care of me. I’ll continue to do what he wants me to do until he tells me to stop or to do something else.   

 

I’ve been reading a book about the Aymara people of the Lake Titicaca region of Bolivia. There’s something about their lives that strikes me in profound ways as I’m navigating this blog’s topic. The book is told as by a European Jewish immigrant (common ground in my family) escaping the Holocaust, who, while positively reflecting, said of the Aymara “there are so few people who allow you to be quiet” like they do. During a war that was inconceivable, losing most of her family, she endured the cruel commotion of fleeing, getting shuffled around unwanted, until finally she settled in an environment—the only environment that would have her—where there was only earth, sun, and water. She said the Aymara have always lived there like that isolated. And in paraphrasing the voice of the author, she said that they grew their food, and they fished. They played pipes and they danced. That was enough. What would it be like for that to be enough?

 

Yes, I’m aware that life on the land can be tough, and the elements unfair. I don’t live that kind of life, yet I’ve been drawn to it, I think, over my whole existence… almost as if something’s missing. To achieve that primitive sort of lifestyle while under the scrutinizing scope of how most people live in my birth country, you have to really want it; also to be alone, or among others with the same mindset, to exercise that freedom. You need to want the same thing for it to work.

 

I’d served as a missionary around the world, and the only times my team had to pry me away and carry me home because I didn’t want to leave was when we were among Indigenous groups. There’s something about a certain way of life that makes sense to me, seems natural, as if this was how we were meant to live… before colonization, oppression, slavery, raping the land, and development. I think many Indigenous had it right, which is probably why the devil did his work to twist minds and strangle that way of life. I live in a society that is centered on greed, having more, building and progress, and needing to stand out with stuff. I’m guilty. I, too, have accumulated too much stuff. I think of Adam in the Garden of Eden. It was the garden for him to care for and live from while walking with his Creator daily. So how does that life look when it’s coupled with the Great Commission? How do you share Jesus, the Waymaker for all tribes and peoples, without modernly westernizing them which always seems to revolve around greed, money, and control?

 

Increasingly I want to lay it all down. What’s really important? Where am I going with this, whatever I’m doing, and why? And, yes, what would Jesus do? If physically walking the earth today during his ministry, would he have bought a plane ticket to travel from Israel? How would he have afforded one? Would he have run a slick and professional campaign based on the generosity of others, saying with a push, “I NEED your donation TODAY in order to GO”? Or would the carpenter have worked more at his trade to afford the travel? Food for thought.

 

It’s expensive to travel, and missionaries often have to raise their own support in order to go into the field. I know this firsthand. I guess I’m now a sort of online missionary. Although I don’t ask, I’m not saying it’s wrong to accept donations, but there’s an obvious disproportion out there when it comes to financing ministries. I see it all the time everywhere. It really should be treated more delicately, considered with more weight and responsibility, if you’re thinking about asking for support.    

 

Yeshua saved me, delivered me, cleansed me, healed me—and I freely received life for eternity. Why would I not freely give and in my own non-talky way tell others about it? Do my part, do what I humanly can, without asking for a red cent.