Eliteinchrist's Blog

Shifting the goal post

26 Oct 2011 15 Comments

by eliteinchrist in Doctrine Tags: bible, christian, christian doctrine, Christianity, Doctrine, faith, financial breakthrough, Firstfruit, firstfruits, malachi, money, pulpit pimps, seed faith, tenth, tithe, tithes, tithing, WOF, Word of faith

It is not uncommon to see preachers particularly those of the WoF movement pick and choose scriptures in a way that suits them. They keep inventing new ways of bending scriptures to suit their beliefs; deceiving the gullible as they go along.

I still cannot understand why the concept of the tithe being the tenth seems too difficult to grasp. Instead there is still the huge mistake of equating the tenth with 10%; they are not the same thing! I will buttress my point with the popular doctrine of the firstfruit.

It is common knowledge that the firstfruit denotes the first of something, even the bible says so. And even though the concept is limited to agricultural produce and livestock alone, these preachers try to extend it to money. Some call it the first salary or wage you earn in a year while other call it the first 10% of what you earn monthly (As if one can tell the difference between the first 10% and last 10% of £1000). Although none of these schools of thought enjoy scriptural support, they all share one common truth; calling the firstfruit the first. If they understand the first to mean the first of something and not 1% of that thing, then why don’t they extend that same knowledge to the tenth? Why will you say it is the same thing as 10%?

If I had ten balls of different colours lined up and wanted to know their colours, the logically way of doing so will be by listing the position of each ball and name its colour. For example

First –red

Second-blue

Third-green

Fourth-purple

Fifth-indigo

Sixth-maroon

Seventh-violet

Eighth-yellow

Ninth-peach

Tenth-fuchsia

If this was a classroom exercise for some kids and I asked them which ball is peach, will an answer of 9% be correct? Definitely not! Why then is the belief that tenth also means the same thing as 10%? It is even more annoying when we all agree that first means first and not 1%.

How will it look if I decide to extend our concept of the tenth meaning the same thing as 10% to all of the balls?

First (means same thing as 1%)–red

Second (means same thing as 2%)-blue

Third (means same thing as 3%)-green

Fourth (means same thing as 4%)-purple

Fifth (means same thing as 5%)-indigo

Sixth (means same thing as 6%)-maroon

Seventh (means same thing as 7%)-violet

Eighth (means same thing as 8%)-yellow

Ninth (means same thing as 9%)-peach

Tenth (means same thing as 10%)-fuchsia

Even the unschooled can tell that these definitions are off.

The tithe and the firstfruits were positions, positions which were Old Testament shadows of New Testament realities. The firstfruit, the first, was a shadow of Jesus the firstborn of all creation and the tithe, the tenth, was a shadow of the church as ten represents grace. We were saved by grace remember?

Seeing that the bible never defined the tithe in terms of percentages neither calling it 10% of currency for that matter, where then did this definition come from? Well your guess is as good as mine.

Giving according to what you have and not what you earn

23 Sep 2011 10 Comments

by eliteinchrist in Doctrine Tags: bible, christian, christian doctrine, Christianity, Doctrine, faith, financial breakthrough, Firstfruit, firstfruits, malachi, money, pulpit pimps, seed faith, tenth, tithe, tithes, tithing, WOF, Word of faith

I promised myself not to write on tithing anymore but have had to break this promise yet again due to some rather strange tithe teachings making their rounds on the internet.

Scripture says one thing but people either ignorantly or deliberately twist it to say something else to suit their purpose. And this is quite disheartening.

I stumbled upon the blog of some preacher who had started a “tithing challenge” in his church. He defended his actions with a lot of scripture twisting and personal opinions. The one that really got to me was his interpretation of 2 Corinthians 8. As far as he was concerned, Paul’s charge to the church in Corinth to give whatever they could afford according to what they had meant that they were supposed to give beyond 10%.

12 Whatever you give is acceptable if you give it eagerly. And give according to what you have, not what you don’t have. 13 Of course, I don’t mean your giving should make life easy for others and hard for yourselves. I only mean that there should be some equality. 2 Corinthians 8

How can one read the above scripture and come away saying Paul meant they should give beyond 10%? Quite mind-boggling!

There is a whole world of difference between what you have and what you earn. Paul’s charge was that everyone should give according to what they had and not what they earned; a common mistake we make in today’s church. Many insist and believe that proportionate giving means giving a portion of what you earn when in fact scriptures calls it giving according to what you have.

I will explain with this illustration. We have 2 men, Bill and Luke, who both earn £1200 every month. Bill is unmarried and lives alone in a one bedroom flat.  While Luke on the other hand is married with 2 children, his wife is a full-time housewife and they live in a 2 bedroom house. Even though both men earn the same will they have the same leftover after they have met all necessary financial obligations?

Below is a breakdown of the income and expenditure for both men

Assuming they keep to their budgets, both men can never spend the same amount on monthly necessities and both will never have the same amount of money leftover either. It will be a huge burden on Luke to insist that he gives 10% of what he earns, even more wicked to insist that he gives 10% of what he earns before tax. This will leave a lot of his bills unpaid and remember he has 2 young children.

Some will insist that he gets another job or that his wife should work. That is a decision he has to make by himself and it is not a decision a pastor or a well-meaning brother should make on his behalf. And besides, Luke and his wife worked out that should his wife work; all she earns will go towards childcare costs. Others will say his tithing is proof of his love for God and God will reward him according. I say that is a very bad and silly advice.

The charge in scripture is “give according to what you have” and if that is up to 10%, it is all good. God will never punish anyone unable to give up to 10% as He never instituted it as the absolute minimum one must give.

God, the “Program”

21 Sep 2011 Leave a Comment

by eliteinchrist in Doctrine Tags: bible, christian, christian doctrine, Christianity, Doctrine, faith, financial breakthrough, Firstfruit, firstfruits, malachi, money, pulpit pimps, seed faith, tenth, tithe, tithes, tithing, WOF, Word of faith

The word program has various meanings but only one of these definitions is pertinent to this discussion. The fredictionary.com defines “program” as a set of coded instructions that enables a machine, especially a computer, to perform a desired sequence of operations. (Emphasis mine).

Amongst Pentecostals, particular those who hold fast to the Word of Faith doctrine, God is truly treated like a machine that has been programmed to do all of their biddings. Tele-evangelists and preachers alike make a killing from the sale of books and cds that “teach” believers how best to use this “God” program.

Fully utilising this “God” program is sure to bring you results beyond your wildest dreams. This Program if used correctly can make you very wealthy, can help you secure promotions, can dispose of all your enemies and make you the envy of your neighbours.

The God program only responds to certain coded instructions. If these instructions are not strictly followed, you will not see desired results.

The “Fasting” coded instruction is guaranteed to make this Program bring speedy answers to your prayer requests. Adding the “seed sowing” instruction is bound to make this Program grant you the desires of your heart. It even has a fast track route to becoming a millionaire; the coded instruction of “tithing”. Some preachers even give a money back guarantee on this one.

Of course am being cynical but our ideology about God seems to be that He is only here to do things we desire and nothing more. And preachers use this faulty ideology to take advantage of us. No message is ever complete without us having to sow a “seed” to claim these promises. If we desire a prophets’ reward, we need to “sow” a good seed into the live of the prophet. This makes God obligated to do your biddings. To enjoy the anointing of the man of god, we need to sow a seed and so on. This is simply ridiculous!

We will continue to be suckered by these preachers till we realise that God is not a program but a Father who desires to have a RELATIONSHIP with His children. And as any good father, He is concerned about you and does not need you to earn this concern. While we were yet sinners He loved us so much that He sent His only begotten Son to die for us. We did not deserve it neither did we have to earn it.

Ignore all these so called self help and fast track routes to receiving from God and cultivate a relationship with Him instead. That is bound to be more rewarding as you will be able to know God’s mind for you by yourself.

Paul had the right idea and expressed this in Philippians 3

9And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: 10That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; 11If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead. 12Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. 13Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,14I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. 15Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you.

Our goal should be to know Him and everything else will follow.

Learning from the 5 wise virgins

04 Sep 2011 1 Comment

by eliteinchrist in Doctrine Tags: bible, christian, christian doctrine, Christianity, Doctrine, faith, financial breakthrough, Firstfruit, firstfruits, malachi, money, pulpit pimps, seed faith, tenth, tithe, tithes, tithing, WOF, Word of faith

“Then the Kingdom of Heaven will be like ten bridesmaids who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. 2 Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. 3 The five who were foolish didn’t take enough olive oil for their lamps, 4 but the other five were wise enough to take along extra oil. 5 When the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep. 6 “At midnight they were roused by the shout, ‘Look, the bridegroom is coming! Come out and meet him!’ 7 “All the bridesmaids got up and prepared their lamps. 8 Then the five foolish ones asked the others, ‘Please give us some of your oil because our lamps are going out.’ 9 “But the others replied, ‘We don’t have enough for all of us. Go to a shop and buy some for yourselves.’ Matthew 25

I was mulling over the parable of the ten virgins when something about the 5 wise virgins struck me. We tend to think that they were considered wise because they took with them extra oil, as a matter of fact it was way more than that. They knew when to give and when not to!

If this scenario were to play itself in today’s church, how will people react towards the 5 wise virgins who refused to share their oil? My guess is they will be considered selfish as much of today’s church seem to believe that taking care of your needs first is selfish.

How many times have we heard preachers tout the horn of giving in the church? Believers that barely have enough for themselves are made to feel guilty that they are not giving enough. These preachers never even consider the personal needs of the people.

The 5 wise virgins considered the quantity of oil they had left and could see that they will not have enough to share with the others. Have you ever been that way about your finances? Do you consider how much you will require to take care of your family and how much you can give away? It is wisdom to know when to give and when not to.

Having no plan on how you spend your money is simply not wise, not having any realistic priorities in the way we spend money does not show good judgement either. There is a time to give and there is a time not to.

Does the Bible really define the tithe as 10%?

25 Aug 2011 7 Comments

by eliteinchrist in Doctrine Tags: bible, christian, christian doctrine, Christianity, Doctrine, faith, financial breakthrough, Firstfruit, firstfruits, malachi, money, pulpit pimps, seed faith, tenth, tithe, tithes, tithing, WOF, Word of faith

I was engaged in a series of discussions with a pastor over this issue of the tithe. And according to him, tithes and offerings are freewill offerings with the tithe of 10% a bible commanded guide to giving. He is one of the millions who define the tithe as 10%.

I visited another sister’s blog where she has written a post extolling the effectiveness of the tithe. I and Several others left comments and she wrote a rebuttal to counter some of the comments she did not think were “scriptural”.

I proceeded to comment on her rebuttal and while writing out my comment, I was suddenly aware that nearly everybody defines the tithes in percentages and that is not at all scriptural!

I pointed this out to the pastor and he told me I was wrong but still ended up proving my point. He pulled out every reference to tithing in the bible including their Hebrew names and all called the tithe A TENTH and not 10%. How do both differ?

As I mentioned in one of my previous posts, the TENTH is a position and not a percentage. And the tithe is the TENTH part of agricultural produce alone. And the tithe of crops was determined by grouping them into 10 equal parts and separating the TENTH part as the tithe. No portion of scripture ever commands us to tithe money; it is practically impossible. While the tithe of livestock was determined by separating every TENTH animal. No tenth, no tithe!

30 “One tenth of the produce of the land, whether grain from the fields or fruit from the trees, belongs to the Lord and must be set apart to him as holy. 31 If you want to buy back the Lord’s tenth of the grain or fruit, you must pay its value, plus 20 percent. 32 Count off every tenth animal from your herds and flocks and set them apart for the Lord as holy. 33 You may not pick and choose between good and bad animals, and you may not substitute one for another. But if you do exchange one animal for another, then both the original animal and its substitute will be considered holy and cannot be bought back.” 34 These are the commands that the Lord gave through Moses on Mount Sinai for the Israelites. Lev 27

The only time percentages were ever used in relation to the tithe was in terms of its MONETARY VALUE. Further proof money could not be tithed even though it was present at the time.

In the portion of scripture above, we see one of the references to the monetary value of the tithe. God instructed that if anyone wanted to buy back his tithe, he should pay the MONETARY VALUE of the tithe plus 20% of this value. And this poses this question, if money could be tithed, how would it be possible to buy back money with money thus redeeming your tithe?

The other reference to the MONETARY value of the tithe was with regards to the tithing banquet. Here God commanded that if the venue was too far, the tithe could be converted into its monetary value and every cent spent on anything the tither liked.

24 “Now when the Lord your God blesses you with a good harvest, the place of worship he chooses for his name to be honored might be too far for you to bring the tithe. 25 If so, you may sell the tithe portion of your crops and herds, put the money in a pouch, and go to the place the Lord your God has chosen. 26 When you arrive, you may use the money to buy any kind of food you want—cattle, sheep, goats, wine, or other alcoholic drink. Then feast there in the presence of the Lord your God and celebrate with your household. 27 And do not neglect the Levites in your town, for they will receive no allotment of land among you. Deu 14

This 10% lie has been preached far too long and many people believe it to be true.

God made Aaron and his descendants priests and gave them the entire tribe of Levi as helpers. As such the tribe of Levi were not given any allotment within the promise land. God commanded that the tithe of agricultural produce the remaining 11 tribes brought was to be received by the Levites who in turn gave a tithe of the best portions to the priests.

22 “From now on, no Israelites except priests or Levites may approach the Tabernacle. If they come too near, they will be judged guilty and will die. 23 Only the Levites may serve at the Tabernacle, and they will be held responsible for any offenses against it. This is a permanent law for you, to be observed from generation to generation. The Levites will receive no allotment of land among the Israelites, 24 because I have given them the Israelites’ tithes, which have been presented as sacred offerings to the Lord. This will be the Levites’ share. That is why I said they would receive no allotment of land among the Israelites.” 25 The Lord also told Moses, 26 “Give these instructions to the Levites: When you receive from the people of Israel the tithes I have assigned as your allotment, give a tenth of the tithes you receive—a tithe of the tithe—to the Lord as a sacred offering. 27 The Lord will consider this offering to be your harvest offering, as though it were the first grain from your own threshing floor or wine from your own winepress. 28 You must present one-tenth of the tithe received from the Israelites as a sacred offering to the Lord. This is the Lord’s sacred portion, and you must present it to Aaron the priest. 29 Be sure to give to the Lord the best portions of the gifts given to you. 30 “Also, give these instructions to the Levites: When you present the best part as your offering, it will be considered as though it came from your own threshing floor or winepress. 31 You Levites and your families may eat this food anywhere you wish, for it is your compensation for serving in the Tabernacle. 32 You will not be considered guilty for accepting the Lord’s tithes if you give the best portion to the priests. But be careful not to treat the holy gifts of the people of Israel as though they were common. If you do, you will die.” Num 18

Now does the tithe being practised in today’s church resemble this in anyway? And since the New Testament calls every single believer a priest, who then are the Levites that give a tithe of the tithe to us the priests? Also who are those that are representative of the remaining 11 tribes that will bring their tithes to the Levites?

All those who teach that the Lord’s tithe is 10% of money and compel other believers to part with it are guilty of theft by deceit. Those who give 10% of their gross or net earnings as God’s tithe and believe it to be scriptural lack knowledge.

The belief that God commands a 10% minimum to be given cannot be found anywhere in the bible. And the New Testament teaches us plainly that anything we give, as far as we give willingly and cheerfully is acceptable to God. No minimums or 10% guide is commanded.

Update
I found this link describing the Biblical tithes in a bit more detail. A very good read!

Found another link that gives the history of tithing!

Some things never change!

09 Aug 2011 4 Comments

by eliteinchrist in Doctrine Tags: bible, christian, christian doctrine, Christianity, Doctrine, faith, financial breakthrough, Firstfruit, firstfruits, malachi, money, pulpit pimps, seed faith, tenth, tithe, tithes, tithing, WOF, Word of faith

41Jesus was sitting in the temple near the offering box and watching people put in their gifts. He noticed that many rich people were giving a lot of money. 42Finally, a poor widow came up and put in two coins that were worth only a few pennies. 43Jesus told his disciples to gather around him. Then he said: I tell you that this poor widow has put in more than all the others. 44Everyone else gave what they didn’t need. But she is very poor and gave everything she had. Now she doesn’t have a cent to live on. Mark 12

The common trend amongst today’s Christians particularly amongst popular tele-evangelists is to conform scriptures to suit their beliefs. And as far as they are concerned, everything has to point to money in one way or the other. Money is most definitely their God.

Nearly everyone who has attended church has heard this story of the widow preached just before offering time. It is usually employed to tug on the heart strings of the faithful to ensure they part with large sums of money under the guise of funding God’s work.

Did Jesus use this scenario to teach tithing, firstfruits or sacrificial giving? I would say no to all three. Obviously, this had no bearing on tithing and firstfruits as money could never be given as tithes or firstfruits. And nowhere in scripture are we encouraged in scripture to give our entire livelihood to fund ‘God’s’ work.

On careful study of scripture, we see that a lot of things are off with this widow’s offering as there is no portion of scripture that commands widows to give their livelihood to the treasury.  Instead, Jesus used the plight of this widow to highlight the false teachings of the teachers of the law.  The poor widow had been cheated out of her home!

38As Jesus was teaching, he said: Guard against the teachers of the Law of Moses! They love to walk around in long robes and be greeted in the market. 39They like the front seats in the meeting places and the best seats at banquets. 40But they cheat widows out of their homes and pray long prayers just to show off. They will be punished most of all. Mark 12

In the Old Testament, God did command that all males over 20 years of age should pay ransom money for the upkeep of the tabernacle. The same amount was levied on both the rich and poor but there was no mention of widows ever paying such dues. The manipulation of the Pharisees and Sadducees was definitely at work.

14 All who have reached their twentieth birthday must give this sacred offering to the Lord. 15 When this offering is given to the Lord to purify your lives, making you right with him, the rich must not give more than the specified amount, and the poor must not give less. 16 Receive this ransom money from the Israelites, and use it for the care of the Tabernacle. It will bring the Israelites to the Lord’s attention, and it will purify your lives.” Exodus 30

This same manipulation is still very much evident in much of today’s church. Unscrupulous preachers twist scriptures to ensure they continue to receive a steady revenue stream.

Tithing your time? How silly!

02 Aug 2011 6 Comments

by eliteinchrist in Doctrine Tags: bible, christian, christian doctrine, Christianity, Doctrine, faith, financial breakthrough, Firstfruit, firstfruits, malachi, money, pulpit pimps, seed faith, tenth, tithe, tithes, tithing, WOF, Word of faith

I dare say unequivocally that the concept of Christianity seems completely lost to many and rather than look to God to gain more insight, they make up their own doctrines as they go along. Where is it written in the bible that you can give a portion of your time to God. Who told you your time was yours to apportion as you wish in the first place?

During the biblical times people were allowed to keep slaves.  And once bought, a slave became the property of his master. His time and his whole life were spent doing his master’s will. His time was his master’s,  everything he owned was his master’s and as such it was completely absurd for the slave to think that he was fulfilling his master’s will by dedicating part of his time or money to his master.

Scripture makes us understand that we are now slaves of Christ as we have been paid for by His blood. As such our lives are no longer ours and everything we own are not ours either: they all belong to Christ! If this is the case, how possible is it to tithe your time? Shouldn’t all of your time be God centred? So if you give God 10% of your time, how do you spend the remaining 90%?

There is no such thing as tithing your time; God should be seen in every endeavour you engage in 24 hours of the day. Hence scriptures tell us that everything we do should be done unto the Lord. Unfortunately, the lure of filling the pews every Sunday is so difficult to resist that preachers invent these clever doctrines. So in the minds of many, giving your time to God means volunteering in “church” or God’s house while to others taking time out to promote your local assembly is actually tithing your time. How unscriptural!

God’s house is not a building but the assembly of God’s people is. And your entire life should be spent doing what God expects from you and not doing what you think is noble or right.

Don’t delude yourself into thinking God wants 10% of your time, He already owns you and as such all of your time.

Luke 6: 38 and the Parable of the Sower

09 Jun 2011 Leave a Comment

by eliteinchrist in Doctrine Tags: bible, christian, christian doctrine, Christianity, Doctrine, faith, financial breakthrough, Firstfruit, firstfruits, malachi, money, pulpit pimps, seed faith, tenth, tithe, tithes, tithing, WOF, Word of faith

There seem to be the notion that Luke 6: 38 and the Parable of the sower are related somewhat. They are both used in conjunction with Malachi 3: 10 most Sundays when it gets to offering time.

We Pentecostals do seem to have a problem with context in scripture and just simple pick and choose bible verses and applying them to fit our personal convictions. To make us part with our hard earned cash, Luke 6: 38 is quoted to us as a guarantee that the more generous we are in our giving the larger the amount God would bless us with through others.

To further help us imagine how great the returns on our giving would be, the parable of the sower is used to further lean weight to this notion. Giving sowing your money into the fertile ground of your local church would bring about a 100 fold return. And so we give with this expectation in mind.

Zeal is no substitute for knowledge and misapplication of scripture would never yield results. Luke 6: 38 is not at all about giving or “sowing” of money! Jesus was talking about the way we treat others: treat them like you would like to be treated.

35 “Love your enemies! Do good to them. Lend to them without expecting to be repaid. Then your reward from heaven will be very great, and you will truly be acting as children of the Most High, for he is kind to those who are unthankful and wicked. 36 You must be compassionate, just as your Father is compassionate. 37 “Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn others, or it will all come back against you. Forgive others, and you will be forgiven. 38 Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full—pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back.” Luke 6 (New Living Translation)

No single translation of the bible equates Luke 6: 38 with the giving of money! Here are some other translations of this same verse

If you give to others, you will be given a full amount in return. It will be packed down, shaken together, and spilling over into your lap. The way you treat others is the way you will be treated. CEV

Give, and you will receive. A large quantity, pressed together, shaken down, and running over will be put into your pocket. The standards you use for others will be applied to you.” GW

The parable of the sower does not even feature in this equation as this was used by Jesus to illustrate how the Word of God thrives in different hearts.

Gaining wealth through the principle of sowing and reaping

03 Jun 2011 Leave a Comment

by eliteinchrist in Doctrine Tags: bible, christian, christian doctrine, Christianity, Doctrine, faith, financial breakthrough, Firstfruit, firstfruits, malachi, money, pulpit pimps, seed faith, tenth, tithe, tithes, tithing, WOF, Word of faith

We all need money and that is the honest truth. We need it to buy food, clothing, pay bills etc. And some people have loads of it while others barely have enough of it.

How can you gain wealth and have loads of money at your disposal? Through the simple law of sowing and reaping, a poorly taught concept in much of today’s church.

One of the many definitions of the word sow is to place seeds in or on the ground for future growth. In other words sowing is something done now which will be of benefit in the future. And in order to sow one would need a seed.

Since much of today’s church are not farmers and do not have physical plant seeds our time, money and talents are regarded as seeds instead.

What happens if you do not sow your seeds? You do not reap a harvest. What happens if you eat your seed? You’ll have nothing to sow with and have nothing to harvest. And rather unfortunately, much of today’s church face this dilemma: they do not sow their seeds and thus have nothing to reap come harvest time.

Like I said earlier, this law of sowing and reaping is so poorly taught in much of today’s church that many Christians end up wasting their seeds instead of sowing it. How then can we sow our seeds and reap a harvest?

We’ve all been led to believe that sowing your seed (talents, time and money) means giving them all towards God’s work. So you dedicate a large portion of your income to your local church and spend all of your time attending daily church programs and hope that God will reward this dedication with a harvest of wealth. Well am so sorry to disappoint you, that ain’t gonna happen!

Sowing, when used in the bible always referred to investments of some sort. The farmers in the bible who went to sow their seeds were investors and put in a lot of time and energy to ensure they reap a bountiful harvest.

They first of all usually had a good understanding of the seasons and knew which seeds did well in different seasons. Then they prepared their land, tilling and nurturing it so that the seeds they plant have a very good chance of growing. And come harvest, would reap the rewards of their labour. They did not give their seeds to the Rabbis, high priests and then go back home to call forth a harvest by proclaiming God’s word. That unfortunately, is what many Christians are guilty of.

We do not attract wealth because unlike the farmers we do not invest. The farmers first took into cognizance the season. How investment savvy are you? Have you researched what investments are likely to do well within a particular period? What about your time? How do you spend it? Do you spend it acquiring more knowledge, gaining more qualifications that could help you climb your career ladder very quickly? What about your talents? Do you try to improve them so that your earning power increases?

That is truly how you sow your seed! If you invest in improving yourself and your talents and invest in sound business ideas, with God’s backing you should reap a good harvest. And in so doing have more than enough for yourself and others.

If you want to give, give but do not be deceived that you are sowing and then hope to reap a harvest of money.

Sowing and giving are two completely different things!