Quote:
Originally Posted by Originalist
Let's say there was a family in your church that was really struggling with basics like keeping the lights on and buying gasoline. They have one car and miss about every other Wednesday night simply because they cannot afford the gas as they live about 13 miles from the church. The are dedicated Christians but simply are having a difficult time. With their hardships they do good just to get to church Sundays and most Wednesdays but simply cannot afford to participate in off night ministries or functions. As a result of the hardships the father has to get a second part time job just to stay afloat and to be able to provide a meager Christmas for his kids. This eats up most of his time and eliminates his participation on off night ministry even more.
Would you say this person is out of the will of God somehow?
Should he just dive into all the extra off night functions at church and trust trust God to supply the gas and meet his needs instead of getting another job? Is he "not putting the Kingdom first" if he has to work two jobs? Or is God trying to tell him its time to move to an areas where better work is available?
I knew a man who was an unpaid associate pastor at a church. He and his family lost everything during a hurricane. They both worked but could not catch up. He did not get a second job because he would not have been able to continue to carry the load at church he normally did. He finally had to declare bankruptcy. Now if he had, for a season, curtailed some of his ministry involvement to work a second job, his pastor would have not been happy (I know him). Yet this man ends up having to declare bankruptcy. He refused to curtail any "ministry" activity even for a season in order to remain "faithful". Wouldn't it have been more noble and godly to get a second job for just a season?
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I'd like to respond to the question I've highlighted in red above with ANOTHER question:
"What are the chances that a group of posters on a message forum would be able to determine whether someone they had never met was actually in the will of God or not?"
ANSWER:
0%
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