CHARISMA CLASSIC: Someone Else’s Servant (September 1985)

Share:
When missionaries visit the States and see our opulence, they draw a natural contrast it to the poverty they’ve just left. But poverty and riches are relative. I have two cars. I live in a two-story brick house. Within reason, I can buy anything I want. I’ve never known hunger. What should I do if confronted by the Third-World poverty?

Breaking news, Spirit-filled stories. Subscribe to Charisma on YouTube now! 

Here’s what I have done. I loan my cars to missionaries home on furlough—and I buy the gas and pay the repair bills. I fill my house with people in need of ministry. I give a large portion of my income to support those in ministry and to feed the poor. Ten years ago, my wife, Jackie, and I moved out of a small subdivision to our present house on 20 acres in a semi-rural setting. By today’s standards we got it at a steal. But for five years we both lived with deep-seated guilt because we had such a nice place. That has passed. We now see our purchase as a wise move. I no longer believe God condemns prosperity. Indeed, I think He desires it for us—as long as we use what we have for His glory. On the other hand, I too am appalled by what is happening in some sectors of Western Christendom. Extravagance grieves me. Yet extravagance is relative to culture. Not long ago, I helped deliver an evaporative cooler to a Christian Native American living in a dirt-floored hut in the Mexican desert, which provided him—and the 10 people in his tiny house—a degree of comfort. But in the eyes of his neighbors, it was sheer extravagance.

Get your FREE CHARISMA NEWSLETTERS today! Stay up to date with current issues, Holy Spirit news, Christian teachings, Charisma videos & more!

I admire the way Sen. John D. “Jay” Rockefeller IV approached his job as a volunteer in the antipoverty program in Emmons, West Virginia (population 200), as a Peace Corps worker. “I come from a world that may be different, but you’ll find me serious and caring and wanting to help,’” he told them. Those grateful people later elected him governor—then U.S. senator. It seems that put riches in the right perspective. What has God told me to do? He’s said to withhold judgment from His servants—to be kind, tenderhearted and forgiving—even if I do not understand.

Thank you for visiting CharismaNews.com. To enjoy the rest of this CharismaNews post, please visit this link

Join Charisma Magazine Online to follow everything the Holy Spirit is doing around the world!

Share:

More Spiritual Content
PRAY: Car Rams Christmas Market, 11 Dead with Dozens Reportedly Injured
Israeli Minister in Letter to Pope: ‘Jesus lived and died as a Jew’
America’s ‘Superman Prophecy’: A Vision of Redemption
Are These 10 Prophetic Points Your Gamebreakers for 2025?
David Diga Hernandez: How to Grow with God in 2025
US Citizen Found ‘Guilty’ of ‘Hate Speech’ for Quoting Bible Verse
Larry Huch’s 2025 Word: ‘The Golden Era’
JD Vance Responds to Now-Viral Prayer Complaint
Morning Rundown: Kenneth Copeland’s Word for 2025
Here It Comes: California Declares State of Emergency
previous arrow
next arrow
Shadow

Most Popular Posts

Latest Videos
88K Subscribers
1.1K Videos
8.9M Views

Share