How Do You Make Money

Do you remember being asked this question when you were a kid, "How will you make money when you grow up?" Of course not. We were generally asked, "What will you be when you grow up?" My son wanted to be a fire engine. The options were virtually unlimited. We could dream of being anything but then we grew up and realized that dreams were for kids. We needed to get practical and settle on something that would get us through life.

We learned the lesson that money really does make the world go round. And while we certainly didn't want to end up serving the next dollar, no one doubts that having money is more than a little useful.

Somehow, I missed the lesson that there were only 4 categories for making money. I certainly never considered looking at the pros and cons of each model. And yet HOW we make money will determine many things in our lives: how we spend our time, where we live, who we hang out with, who we will help, the number of children we will have and how much education we will need. These are just a few examples that show that determining how we make money will significantly impact our lives.

So how do people make money? Let's look at the 4 different categories that all jobs ultimately fit in. (I won't look at investments since this model tends to come after doing ok in the other categories.)

1

The first and most common category is simply working for someone else. What most people don't realize is that this model requires that you give up your time and abilities in order to make someone else money. Employees are often thankful to their employers for giving them their job, while in fact it is the owner who should thank them for making him/her a profit. This model usually requires a person to be tied to a specific location and income stream. Or in the case of management positions like banking, retail or the military, to be to told where to go and how long they will live in a particular location.

The cost of education is often a significant factor when one is determining how much they will eventually make when they go to work for someone else. There is often the expectation from employers that new employees will have already invested a significant amount of time and money in their education prior to being hired. When going for a job interview there are 2 questions that will inevitably be asked, "What is your educational background and how much experience do you have?" Employers love finding people that they don't have to invest in. Never mind that it often takes 3-7 years to be able to pay off educational debt and this is only if they get a well paying job.

The risk of being passed over for promotions because of favoritism or that others aren't pulling their weight is a constant point of frustration. That's why unions are often accepted and even desired. Equality is often the rallying word for employees. Employers tend to not like this idea at all. They would rather employees be subject to whatever they want, whenever they want it. Whether it be pouring coffee, managing a large group of people, being a minister in a church or even being a professor with a PhD at a university, everyone is simply an employee and are not free to come and go as they please.

They are also very vulnerable to changes in the economy or in the specific business that they are employed in. When I got into being a toolmaker 30 years ago, it was considered one of the best paying and secure of all the skilled trades. Today, I know a number of highly skilled tool and die makers that are now driving trucks due to advancements in technology and globalization.

The one thing that this model does not produce is the potential for financial equality between the workers and the owners or the educated and uneducated.

2

Category number 2 is the self-employed business model. Historically this was the most common model but as we moved away from an agrarian society, more people ended up working for someone else. This model makes you the master of your own destiny and you don't have to bow down to a boss. Not quite true, they often end up having to appease many bosses, their customers. This model includes jobs as diverse as a mechanic to a salesman to a farmer to a doctor and each one has this one thing in common: they are are always vulnerable to a catastrophic event such as sickness or an accident. And if a loved one needs more of their personal time, the self-employed person doesn't always have the freedom to respond to the need. Even a farmer is at the mercy of the weather while other occupations can be drastically effected by economic downturns in their particular area of expertise.

The challenge in this model is that the individual has to be more than just good at his particular skill but has to understand all aspects of making a business work. There is often a significant investment in hardware or education. The constant need to keep up with developing technologies, market trends and ongoing educational upgrades can be overwhelming at times. A mechanic friend says it this way, "I'm not sure if I own this business or if this business owns me."

3

The third category is owning a business. Essentially, all businesses are based on the simple principle of leveraging other people's time and skill to profit the owner. This model has the potential of producing significant profits for the owner. Bill Gates has done fairly well within this model.

However, the vast majority of people never even consider this possibility. The complexities of starting a business and seeing it through to success is a mountain few people are willing to climb and even fewer climb it successfully. 4 out 5 new businesses fail within less than 5 years. There are so many facets that have to be mastered: Research and Development, understanding market share and demographics, having a great product, hiring and firing, training and development of workers, warehousing, customer service, deliveries, accounting, sales, etc. The biggest hurdle of course is the initial start up capital and ongoing capital investment.

This is why many have opted to own franchises where much of the expertise necessary has been supplied through the franchise. It's why people are willing to invest $500,000 in a Tim Horton's. The rewards can be significant but the financial risk, emotional investment and the huge amount of personal time are still significant to anyone who dares to see the view from the top of this particular mountain.

The idea of teamwork is very popular in this model because the owner knows more can be accomplished by getting his employees working together. Naturally this improves his/her profit margin. Owners have all the power and even though this isn't always the best for the business or the employees, it is the reality. He/she took the monetary risk, so therefore deserves all the benefits. The fact that their employees took a lot of risk when committing themselves to the company is never even considered when it comes to critical decision making. This model never considers the idea of equality for all.

4

But there is a fourth category that is often misunderstood because it literally takes the best of each of the above categories without being cluttered with their inherent weaknesses. I never cease to be amazed by this, the most revolutionary of all business models, network marketing.

In its simplest form it requires little (no) financial risk like that of owning a traditional business but has the potential for anyone and everyone to enjoy financial freedom. It thrives by benefiting from the work of others without making a slave of anyone. It is a little like being self-employed in that one gets to use their skills and talents for their own advancement but without taking the risk of relying solely on oneself. It also gets to optimize the tax advantages only granted to business owners, something that hourly/salary workers never have the chance of doing. If personal circumstances demand more time, this business can continue to grow without direct involvement. Equality for all is the heartbeat of this business.

The one thing it doesn't bypass is that you must be willing to do some work and have some perseverance to get the job done. But unlike other jobs it doesn't take 30 years or a significant investment to achieve financial stability and freedom. The biggest challenge is that no one can ever force you to do the work since personal autonomy is one of the pillars in this model.

All businesses require the selling of something, whether it be a product or a service or a membership. And yet one of the most misunderstood aspects of this business is that it does not require everyone to be great at sales. Virtually anyone who is willing to help 2 or 3 others pass this model on to just 2 or 3 people, can enjoy the dream of becoming financially free.

Is it really this simple?

Yes!!

Why doesn't everyone do it? Why aren't more people successful in it?

The immediate concern for most people is that this business is involved in sales. Usually there is an initial response of a tightening of facial muscles, a knot in your stomach, breaking out in a cold sweat or in my case a combination of all 3. But when you consider that we all sell stuff everyday this response should be a little surprising.

All of us, spend most of our days selling something. How many of us have been involved in advertising by wearing designer clothes with the logo prominently displayed? Do you know any Mac owners who seem to always be selling the idea of owning a Mac or the "need" we all have for an Iphone? You'd think they had stocks in the company. No matter what we do, there is rarely a day that goes by that we have not sold something, either products, services or ideas. What you didn't learn in kindergarten was that it is ok to get paid once in awhile for selling something. 

Caution:  Paradigm Shift  But what if all you're doing is sharing the possibility of an education in a skill that generates money without even the need to buy or sell or even leave your home.  Well, you can leave if you want to as it is 100% portable. 

Generally, we have been taught since kindergarten that our role in life will be to work for someone else. Since about 95% of what we learned programmed us to do just that, is it little wonder that this is how 95% of us make money? We were taught over and over that financial security is the dream and that happens only after many years of keeping our nose to the grindstone. We simply can't imagine that doing well financially can be relatively simple, quick, and easily shared with others. We definitely were never taught to measure personal financial success by how financially free we helped others to be.

That is far different than the single owner model where success is measured by how well one person manages to control a group of people. The employee model measures success with terms like reliability, teamwork, hard work and doing what you're told. Some may even get satisfaction that they made Sam Walton and his kids billionaires but I can't say that I really understand that kind of satisfaction. Becoming financially free while helping others become financially free is never a consideration within the self-employed model since others are not even part of the equation.

The Dream of Financial Freedom

Financial freedom is not the language, let alone a goal for most people. They have only thought in terms of letting their circumstances determine the limits of their dreams. Most people have never contemplated this simple question, "What would you do with your life, if money was not a consideration?"

Safety and security is the language that is used by owners to control their many workers. And while loyalty is often talked about, as soon as things get tough for a company, the first ones to pay the price are the loyal employees.

I believe there are many people who believe we should be working together and looking out for the good of each other. They just didn't see it through the eyes of making others financially better off. The days of a community working together to build one person's barn is a thing of the past. Well, almost a thing of the past. Working with others to build a successful network marketing business is the modern day equivalent of this kind of teamwork. And just as the farmer remained fully independent after the barn was built, he always knows that working with and serving others is a very rewarding experience.

Freedom Really is an Attainable Goal

This cooperative business model allows you to go where you want, decide how much you want to make and choose who you work with. No longer does anyone have to be tied to a job that doesn't allow them the freedom to live where they want. And no one has to be at risk because of decisions that are out of their control. Nor do they have to fear economic uncertainty since this model works well in good times and even better in difficult times.

The secret to success in this business is very simple: have a great offer (product, service or membership) and a great compensation plan that can be easily explained to those who have little or no training in either sales or business.

Does this mean their isn't any work involved? Of course not. The business is not complicated but it isn't magic either. No successful business owner has ever accomplished anything without a good plan, good training and the willingness to follow through with their vision.

Most people shrink their dreams to match their income, few expand their incomes to match their dreams. Since we know that many hands make the work easier, why not choose to join a team of like minded business owners that have chosen to work cooperatively together for the purpose of making each other successful?

Original Sin

Original Sin
by Alan Gray

THE SIN

Eve, being the feminine wonder that she was and not accustomed nor designed to face the brutality of Satan's vicious assaults, was caught unaware while her mate and companion was not around. Like the woman brought before Jesus, after being entrapped by the sons of the same devil, she was really quite helpless and unequipped to deal with what came at her. She wasn't devious or rebellious, she was simply a responder and designed to shine in the protection of her Father and in the presence of her dear Adam.

No doubt, being the wide eyed, innocent wonder that she was, she was full of trust. But the one who stood before her now would nearly always trump the moment over the One who had entrusted her with the freedom to wander on her own. She merely listened, as we all are so unfortunately familiar with doing, to the smooth toned, warm, round words of the greatest deceiver the universe has ever known.

When Adam found her, she was different. She knew more than he and he most certainly knew it the moment he saw her with his own eyes and she averted hers. Being the perfect man that he was, he inquired no doubt, with his heart rushing to meet hers where ever she was. Quite possibly, in the fast moving events of the moment and the overwhelming change Adam had suddenly sensed, decisions were made in haste and Adam fell headlong into the deception.

This second deception had no doubt been masterfully engineered by the snake - Satan. It is always a sign of someone who is infected with the will of this devil who waits and preys on women and children. They are to this day the most loathsome of criminals. Nonetheless, the deed was done. Their eyes had opened and the whole of creation suddenly took on a darkness they had never before noticed.

They saw, for the first time, the futility we see every hour. They felt gravity pulling them down, never before sensing the weight of their own bodies. The once warm breeze had turned cool and for the first time they felt a chill. They felt their nakedness, it was strange and raw. They were suddenly aware of their own bodies in ways they had never known before. Even looking at each other, they suddenly needed to cover themselves in the shame of noticing such a difference between them where they had just moments before seen nothing less than a glorious yet unique sameness.

I have never doubted that at the moment His children became aware of the two, dualist opposites they had never before perceived, He knew something terrible had happened and came looking for His children, the crown of his creations and for the first time having to call out for them. When He finally found them, they peered up from the bushes at Him, wide eyed and hunted.

THE SEPARATION

He looked in the eyes of His two children and down at the creature who had had his way with them and knew that with innocence lost, nothing would ever be the same again. They could in no way joyfully play in the world He had made for them, free of all drive and compulsion except what their own nature suggested they enjoy. He knew that they had already begun weighing the value of everything they had only moments before accepted openly without condition. He knew they would be burdened with decisions and choices they were entirly unfamiliar with. It would no longer be the simple joy of putting their hands to the activities of the day they would enjoy but rather a burdensome task and a demanding requirement.

What was going to be a joyfully and momentarily painful delivery of their first child, would now weigh on Eve's mind as she could no longer simply take each moment on it's own, but rather chose to hate the pain that was forced on her, knowing it was not a 'good' feeling and certainly a 'bad' one. She would place it, along with every other experience on this new mental spectrum of good and evil and would now look in fear to the future of the pain she was inevitably forced to endure.

Nothing would be the same. Everything had changed. The simple laughter coming from the garden, the joy in His children's eyes as they played with the many animals Adam had himself named, the wonder on their faces as they stood and stared out at the fields and gardens He had made for them, was never going to be the way of their lives, as He had planned. The terrible knowledge of the war waged between Himself and enemy and the inevitable sorting of what was right and what was not, was no longer His own to bear, it had spread to His children. They had, by this one violation of His will, brought a powerful system of control and manipulation down upon themselves and their progeny.

Knowing the power of this new knowledge and the great destruction it would inevitably produce, it would be necessary to introduce as well, some system of futility to temper it's otherwise devastating result. It would need to be checked by a system of struggle such that the judgements and rejections, the manipulations of personal worth and feelings of superiority they would now have to negotiate would not have a free hand but rather be slowed down to a frustrating pace by the increasing of their labor and multiplied pain of their proliferation.

It was a sentence that no doubt broke His heart yet in it's absence would give them no chance at all to survive, let alone multiply and fill the earth. But far worse than that, the deadly warning He gave them about that tree would sadly be their only hope of rescue from this dark and heavy knowledge. Death would be required of each of them to provide it's relief to their suffering and the hopelessness of the unsolvable riddle of constantly having to weigh out every moment on the scales of good and evil.

THE RESULT

Each morning when the sleep now required from the previous day's labors had ended, they would awake to a vision of futility that they could mostly overcome, but it would take everything within them to do it. Every moment would be a challenge to keep their focus on those thoughts and actions that did not bring them grief and disillusionment. The loveliness of the garden they once were able to see clearly with their eternal eyes, was gone. They looked out at the previous day's remains and everywhere around them stood the incongruous patterns made by human hands. These man made patterns disturbed their souls and brought grief to their hearts. Straight lines that had never been part of their previous world, save the horizon, were now everywhere.

A momentary glance up at the trees and clouds brought back a refreshing reminder of the days when they looked out and saw the artistic brush strokes of their Father's hand spread across the land and sky. Shapes that defied definition. Shapes that swayed and changed filled with innumerable shades and colors, all changing with the whim of a breeze or the shifting of the sun. Now however, they were some how only painful reminders of all that they had lost. The garbage and debris of their fending for themselves, the stench and disease of the rotting remains of their slowly passing days would rise up to remind them of the smell of death they would one day both dread and long for in their uncharted future.

THE CONSEQUENCE

As a baby emerging from his mother's womb, eyes closed and clogged, ears plugged, lungs gasping for breath, we are born with nearly no sense of the spiritual. We sense it's surrounding presence but we are at complete loss for words to describe it and so, have no way to understand it, let alone appreciate it's amazing wonder. We see only the physical, feel only the touch of the tangible. Our five senses are limited to perceive only those things that are destined, under the ancient sentence, to die or otherwise fade away to ultimate destruction.

While we enjoy the many visions of life around us and our souls grasp for deeper spiritual connections with life and with the other isolated human souls embodied in those loved ones we hold dearest to us, they remain beyond our reach and we must be satisfied, if we are able, to simply know they are there. We are separate, we are alone. We carry our thoughts deep in the recesses of our own minds, so deep that we ourselves cannot even trace their origins. God seems as far from us as our own imaginations can take Him yet, with some effort and concentration, as near to as our own thoughts and feelings. We are separated but not abandoned.

THE OFFER

"Repent, the kingdom of God is imminent" says Jesus as his introductory herald of the evangel of our rescue and release. "I have come to make a way, I have come to make you sons and daughters of your one true Father again. I will lead you to Him, as he is very close at hand. But you must believe me and what I tell you or you will wander, as is your nature, off the very narrow path I will lead you on. You must lay aside your reasonings and calculations. Your common sense will only return you to the circles you have orbited from the beginning.

The darkness and isolation of your soul, the private fears and anxieties that have been your self constructed guard rails will be washed away when, in the presence of the Light of our true Father, your spiritual eyes will begin to clear. Your ears will begin to open and your lungs, for so long barely breathing, will be filled with the freshness and life giving oxygen of Spirit and Truth. You will grow, day by day, to recognize your true Father standing beside you, listening, hearing, ready to catch and hold you. You will begin to know the feel of his warming, living water showering down on you as you simply step back into it's showering streams. You will begin to feel the completeness and the new and unfamiliar justification and right to be here, when leaning back into His arms and finding your self simply absorbed into His, where you will begin to understand and know your life and His are, more and more and from time to time, One.

You will begin to experience and feel the eternal, unlimited, unhindered life that knows no death because it needs no saving death to rescue it from the futility of a world caught up in sorting out every right from every wrong. A life that needs no duality to provide balance. No ying and yang, no yes and no, because in Him it is always yes and in this life there is no darkness. In this life there is only light and life. In Him is life and the life is the light of men. This light shines in the darkness and the darkness cannot understand it nor can it overcome it.

Good News, Kingdom of God, Salvation, Hell

This is from a friend of mine, Alan Gray, who responded to a question I posted on Facebook. What is the gospel of the kingdom of God? WOW!

"What is good news?
"Your biopsy turned up negative". "You inherited $55,000". "The house next door with the drug dealers living for the past 3 years has been cleared out and a respectable family has purchased it and is going to do a complete renovation of it."
"Your wife and new baby are going to be fine". "The war has ended." Good news is universal. Everyone knows what good news is. The gospel is good news.

What is the kingdom of God?
We vote in elections because this is how we participate in our government. We obey the laws because this is how we honor our country. We pay taxes because that is how we fund the work of the social support of our society. While there are some kingdoms left in the world, most are now considered countries. Perhaps Kingdom is better understood as the Country of God. But while countries have geographical boundaries, this kingdom of God is made up of a growing citizenship of human beings who willingly commit to ally with it. Those who chose to assign their allegiance to Jesus as their present and coming king, join this expanding citizenship that crosses all geographical boundaries.

Much like a citizen of France living in Canada, he may participate as much as a non-citizen can participate, honoring and supporting the government and people of Canada but their heart is truly in France. They may watch French news or read French magazines, they are a valuable member of the country of Canada by honoring it and following it's rules, even though they may seem foreign and unnecessary. They may engage in changing Canadian culture or even government to reflect more of the French culture they believe in. But regardless of their activities, they are not Canadian, they are French.

What is Salvation?
Salvation is the life long process of rescue from immanent destruction.

The theologians of the first several centuries, in an effort to position themselves in places of power and authority, mutated the meaning and purpose of Hell, the sternest of warnings Jesus gave to those Jewish leaders who thought that by virtue of their genealogy, they were exempt from immanent destruction. These early theologians, with the help of thousands of subsequent bible dreamers have pushed the very present threat and danger of a godless, wasted existence out, far into the infinite future in some mythical fantasy of raining swirling fire, so they could become the imaginary gatekeepers and final arbiters of who escaped it's dreadful fires and torment and who didn't.

Shifting our focus from the everyday, ongoing process of salvation to a one time infinite future event, these imaginative thinkers, stole it's power for themselves and, in the minds of their followers, reduced it's valuable ever present reference to an irrelevant and powerless doctrine that has nothing whatsoever to do with our present lives.

But hell is all around us. Anguish, depression, weeping, gnashing of teeth, tormented souls who have given themselves over or have been tricked into leaving their will and purpose in the hands of personal lust, greed, judgment and condemnation of others, critics of everyone around them, impatient with neighbors or fellow workers, envious of the resources of those around them, protective of their own image, hungry to dominate others, insecure of what they have no control over, hatred and anger at everyone around them for wrongs they themselves have suffered, waging war with spouses, children, parents, other races of people, others of higher or lower income status. It is a nearly endless, day to day, moment by moment enticing that this world beckons us to join in and for our current consideration, it is nothing short of hell. It can be a life time of pain and suffering, it can so define us throughout the length of our lives that even though we claim Jesus to be our savior, we refuse to or even call ourselves powerless to change. We may search for a human salvation through a friend, a spouse, a child, a medical procedure, a drug, a hobby, a career, an identity, an affiliation with a particular group but nothing will free us from this self centered life except to let go of one tie and connection at a time, over as short a period of time as we can endure, to where we hold on to none of these things and denounce all of them in our own lives.

Like a home owner who has been the victim of a hurricane or perhaps the surviving relative of such a one, we sift through these lives with great hope, discarding that which is ruined and collecting up that which is good. With the endless and ever present guidance of the Spirit of God, we take up each thing which was once so dear to us and lay down that which is not.

We are not saved from an eternal infinite existence of pain and suffering, we are being saved from a very present one. What God does with the infinite future is in his hands, what we do in this very short and finite present one is very much in our own. We are being saved but we are very much a part of that process, it is not left in the hands of one savior who died once so we could simply claim him as our birthright and king and then neglect everything he has commanded us to do. There is no salvation in that. In the end, we may have a lifetime of devotion to present to Him and nothing of a changed life to accompany it. Our lives are not our own, they were bought with an invaluable price. "

Tithing - Is it Biblical?

I have had some really wonderful conversations with a friend of mine about God and the one word that drives him a little bonkers is biblical. The reason is quickly obvious since just because something is stated in the Bible doesn’t mean we should follow it without using a wee bit of brain matter.

A simple example of this is when Judah hired his daughter-in-law Tamar as a prostitute. Of course, he didn’t know she was Tamar as she was in a very clever disguise. She got pregnant through this nefarious liaison and he wanted to have her killed for sullying the reputation of his dead sons, until of course he found out that he was the daddy. You can read about this quaint little biblical story about Judah’s family in Genesis 38. The remarkable thing about this biblical story is that their son, Perez became the great, great, great….grandfather of Jesus. “Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar, Perez the father of Hezron” Matthew 1:3.

So what’s the moral of this biblical story. Make your daughter-in-law become a prostitute, hire her services, get her pregnant and in a few generations the saviour of the world will be born. Ok, that’s crazy. There’s only one saviour of the world. Just settle for getting your daughter-in-law pregnant while she works at her trade of prostitution. After all, it’s biblical.

That’s basically how much thought has gone into the issue of the practice of tithing to a local church or in the case of some big name tele-evangelists, tithing directly to them because of the great spiritual food they’ve been serving up.

So let’s examine tithing for the next few minutes or so and see if it stands up to being something some Christians have been involved in for over 1,500 years.

First of all, before going into the teaching from the law, let’s ask the question to Abraham about tithing to Melchizedek, king of Salem. It was a one time event from the spoils of war. Nobody else in Abraham’s army tithed on their portion. Man, I actually taught my son to tithe from his paper route. Surely Abraham could have been a better teacher to his men and made them tithe as well. And oh, what did he do with the rest of the spoils. Oh yeah, he gave the other 90% to the king of Sodom. Abraham, “did you leave instructions about this practice of tithing on the spoils of war.” So then… what is the moral of that story and what should we do about that magic word tithing that is within it? I agree, NOTHING!

We are now getting to the law, which should teach us the principle of tithing. Note: there is a clear distinction between the term tithing and offering. Tithes are actually taxes and are not really free will giving. Biblically, there is clearly a distinction between tithes and offerings. “But you are to seek the place the LORD your God will choose from among all your tribes to put his Name there for his dwelling. To that place you must go; there bring your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your tithes and special gifts, what you have vowed to give and your freewill offerings, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks.” Deuteronomy 12:5,6

So what is the biblical teaching on tithing in the Law? What is generally not taught or known is that there are actually 3 tithes, so without drawing this out any longer, let’s see what they are.

1) INHERITANCE TITHE
"I give to the Levites all the tithes in Israel as their inheritance in return for the work they do while serving at the Tent of Meeting. Numbers 18:21

When God was carving up Israel amongst the 12 tribes, the Levites received no land. Apparently, they were to be somewhat scattered throughout all of the land acting as the civil authorities of the day. Some of them were priests who would eventually serve at the temple.

The tithe they received came only from crops and herds and was what we would consider today to be a 10% tax. But it wasn’t really a tax because it was really an inheritance. Also, take note it could only come from crops and herds which meant the poor who had neither would not have tithed, nor would someone who made their living (like my son’s paper route) in some other way, tithed. The law was very specific about where the tithe was to come from. And the law is the law. You don’t mess with that.

2) CELEBRATION TITHE
Eat the tithe of your grain, new wine and oil, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks in the presence of the LORD your God at the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name, so that you may learn to revere the LORD your God always. Deuteronomy 14:23

This tithe was party time and could only be used for celebrating in Jerusalem. This is a rather interesting tax. It seems God must really like a good party.
Note once again, that the labourers who harvested the crops and were paid in money would not have tithed as the tithe was only on the crops and herds.

3) SOCIAL JUSTICE/WELFARE/ CARE FOR THE POOR TITHE
At the end of every three years, bring all the tithes of that year's produce and store it in your towns, so that the Levites (who have no allotment or inheritance of their own) and the aliens, the fatherless and the widows who live in your towns may come and eat and be satisfied, and so that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. Deuteronomy 14:28,29

This particular tithe was only required every third year (twice in 7). No tithing was done in the 7th Sabbath year. It wasn’t to be taken to Jerusalem but was actually to be put in “storehouses” throughout all of Israel. Requiring the poor to have to travel to get a meal would have been a little harsh. And requiring them to tithe on the grain that they would have received from the storehouse would have been a wee bit INSANE. Lucky them, they didn’t have to tithe. Why? Cuz they were POOR. How lucky can you get? Freedom from tithing.

So what does all this mean? Well, the inheritance tithe still kind of exists. Prove you’re a Levite and demand your rightful inheritance tithe, I think that’s how that works. Not sure if anyone from the other tribes will pay much attention to your “insane” demands.

The celebration tithe, well that was for Jews to celebrate in Jerusalem, so again if you’re a Jew and are planning on celebrating at the Temple (oops, no temple) you can be a faithful tither and have a fantastic party in Jerusalem. If you have to go a long way you can change your cows into money and then change the money back into cows when you get to Jerusalem. Probably a premium to be paid for cows in Jerusalem but hey, that’s just good business.

The social justice tithe is kind of cool. It’s the one that Malachi was talking about when the rich land owners were NOT coughing up their share every 3rd year to go into the storehouses for the poor. “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house.” Malachi 3:10

It seems storehouse meant a place to store food, and food actually meant honest to goodness, FOOD. And remarkably, this food was for the POOR. It seems that God gets a little snitty and takes it personally when people don’t care for the poor. Malachi thought it was about the same as robbing God.

Just to back up a couple of sentences to emphasize what Malachi was all riled up about. He actually speaks for God on this (pretty serious stuff for a Jew to do) "So I will come near to you for judgment. I will be quick to testify against sorcerers, adulterers and perjurers, against those who defraud laborers of their wages, who oppress the widows and the fatherless, and deprive aliens of justice, but do not fear me," says the LORD Almighty. Malachi 3:5

I know everyone knows that context is important when we’re trying to understand “biblical” stuff. But let me simply say this, CONTEXT IS IMPORTANT!!!

To invoke the idea of robbing God when it comes to tithing without understanding that NOT doing social justice was what God considered ROBBING Him is a stench that should leave us gasping for breath. It’s kind of crazy isn’t it, since there’s a few people that seem to have twisted the original meaning of good ole Malachi.

So there you have it. That’s tithing in the Old Testament. To be biblical, which tithe are you practicing?

A Dream: Adam and His Father

Thought I'd bring in a perspective from someone I got to know on facebook that's from Australia. This is a dream his wife, Emma, had the other night.

Adam and The Lord spent their days together, walking and talking to one another. They delighted in each other’s company.

When The Lord came by one day, Adam was so caught up with the busyness of life he told the Lord, “Not today”. Adam began to let the cares of this world take over time, he still continued to love the Lord however he just had so much else on his plate and he just wasn’t able to do both.

After some time had passed, Adam began reminiscing on the times he had spent with The Lord; he remembered how much he had enjoyed His presence. Adam wanted to enjoy the Lord’s presence again but this time it needed to fit into his lifestyle. So Adam went about building a meeting place where he could go a couple times a week to meet with the Lord.

Adam and some of his friends began the meetings, Adam and his friends sung a couple songs and then Adam would talk to the rest of the group all about the Lord. After, they would have a cuppa and then go back to their lives until the next meeting.

Because The Lord loved Adam and his friends He came to the meetings, everyone would feel Him and enjoy His presence. The Lord would say “I have come because I love you, is anyone willing to walk with me? I have a purpose for each of you, is anyone willing to walk with me now?” They would answer “Not yet Lord, I’m just not ready, I need to learn more from Adam, one day I will”.

This continued from meeting to meeting. The Lord wondered how His Beloved had come to a place where they stopped trusting Him; He wondered how they thought they would learn more by meeting and listening to Adam rather than walking along side Him where He would be able to whisper the Mysteries of the world into their ears. However because He loved them he continued to come to the meetings to see if anyone was willing.

Eventually Adam grew a little tired of The Lords interruptions. The Lord would keep asking the people to go with Him, but Adam needed them to stay and serve in the music team, the Café team, the children’s ministry. Adam placed ear muffs over his ears and all those in the meeting place, now they could enjoy the presence of the Lord but they did not have to listen to all His interruptions.

Some of Adam’s friends began questioning in their hearts; surely there is more than this? The God of the bible wants us to live in relationship with Him, but how can we have a relationship with someone we cannot communicate with? This is when they took off their ear muffs.

The Lord came to the meeting and asked “Is anyone willing to walk with me?”. Those whose ears had been opened heard the Lord and they said “Yes Lord we are willing”. In their excitement they tried to tell the others but the others were not willing “I’m sorry but we’re just too comfortable here, besides Adam needs us to serve his ministry, and this is all we know, we’ve been doing this for years”.

Those who were willing, began to walk with The Lord, they found it so liberating, they were able to not only enjoy His presence as before but now they were able to see Him expressed freely through one another, they were in relationship with Him. Each day whether they were at work, spending time with their families or whatever they were doing, The Lord would be with them delighting in them, He would be speaking to them, giving them His heart for those around them. They were not burdened by another man’s vision any longer; they were being used in the very purpose they had been created for.

Who is Church?

This is from a friend of mine Alan Gray. These words were simply from a couple of comments that he posted in a discussion we were having on facebook. But wow, did they ever ring true deep inside of me!

My church is, at once a billion people spread across the face of the earth and the company of just two or three others. I love the church more than anything else but there is only one, She is the radiant bride of Christ. She is everywhere and I enjoy her company on all occasions in equal degree. Sitting, isolated in silence for an hour on a Sunday morning in an environment that functionally forbids my speaking except perhaps if I am fortunate and quick enough to catch her making a hasty exit after the formal procedures are duly satisfied. Maybe then we can spend some real time together, not simply sitting silently in the same auditorium considering it "gathering together" to satisfy what was originally meant to be helpful advice to a very wayward group of her misguided Jews 2000 years ago, that has now become a command and requirement to demonstrate my committedness to her.

The idea that our relationship with the rest of the church ever be reduced to measuring what we give and what we get displays a tragic loss of love. A marriage will never survive the language of equitable exchange in giving and receiving.

It is not the deep intimate nature of a relationship with other members of Christ that I prefer to avoid. On the contrary, I seek it at every chance I get through out the week and throughout the day. It is the rigid human sequences and lifeless processes of organized human logic reduced to something we thoughtlessly and ignorantly call a "service" and repeat endlessly week after week until all the intimacy is completely squeezed out of it that I am avoiding.

Once you are no longer a herd, wandering in the wilderness being lead by a single man and being fed the same food, as wonderful and life sustaining as manna was, there is no comparison to the milk and honey of a land in which we are free to feed ourselves and enjoy the freedom to follow the Spirit of God and not the visions of a man.

A freedom that even the ancient Hebrews could not sustain due to their indifference to the love of their Father in heaven and their servile dependence on human leadership. A freedom that is now, as it was then, greatly taught but only slightly lived within the duty bound institutions of humanly organized corporate religious thinking. A non-profit corporation that plagiarizes the name 'church' and calls out to those who are conditioned for labor from years of bearing the burden of their own sin so it can lift it, for a short time, only to replace it with the burden of policy and mission and the work of the gospel to be done. In the one case they were burdened with the weight of their own sin in the latter, they are given the weight of the sins of everyone they meet. The burden of hell is no longer just your own, you must carry that responsibility for everyone you know. You must be a moral beacon, you must be a servant of all, you must not lust with your heart, you must give all of yourself to the mission. You may be the only Jesus your neighbor will ever see and when they are burning in the fires of hell, they may call out and ask you why you never told them about this salvation.

If a Jew or anyone else for that matter, has found his way to no longer worship in "this place or that place" but rather "in spirit and in truth" and the only yoke he is bound to is the love of his own life now held in obedience by the hand of his loving Father in heaven, then that one has most certainly entered the promised land.

A Gift From Jesus

This is a present from Jesus that finds almost no equal in our society.

Hollywood doesn't require the greatest actors to wow the crowd every week and even they are helped by an entire entourage of helpers and supporting actors.

Educators are helped by getting a fresh batch of students every term. They don't have to create new material and they get to use the same stories over and over.

Students actually have the benefit of actually picking and choosing their courses or in my case I actually chose some courses based on who would be teaching it. They even get to graduate and get on with their lives.

But then Jesus comes along and creates a church model that requires lots of devotion being given to one person for an extended period of time that is not seen anywhere else in society. And even then he only makes a 3 year attempt at this kind of devotion.

He also puts a 10% admission fee on their devotion to the minister and the meeting facility. There really is nothing else to compare this kind of activity to on the face of the earth except of course in other religious models.

It certainly has created an incredibly caring and supportive group of people with ministers being able to take the lead in society, all the while living off of the charity of others.

The fact that this goes on generation after generation and great men aspire to take the lead in this model is perhaps as miraculous as the resurrection itself.