Christian Living
Brother Cashflow's Condemnation
By Patricia Backora
Author of Big Bucks and the Boogerman
Which you can order online from www.i-proclaim.com
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Talk about desperation on the part of money-hungry pulpiteers who lust for more and more and can never have enough (Isaiah 56:11)! I read more than one account of how one wealthy, popular televangelist resorted to the lowest kind of pulpit abuse. In front of a vast sea of souls he singled out a lone member of his congregation for public censure because the person wasn't contributing his "tithe" to the church. Not only did this minister reportedly rebuke the non-tither loudly and clearly for all to hear, he did so with a racial insult!
"Brother Cashflow" has an international ministry. He has made himself prosperous by preaching prosperity. The sumptuous life style he enjoys would make King Solomon look like a beggar. Brother Cashflow has much much more than the bare necessities Paul the Apostle was content with (I Tim.6:8).
It appears that Brother Cashflow is far more fortunate than the widow in the slums who has to choose between winter heat and a hot meal. He's infinitely better off than the homeless who roll out their slabs of cardboard every night and sleep under drippy store entrances (when they aren't told to "move on").
Did it ever occur to Brother Cashflow that it is a mercy of the Lord that he himself isn't in that wretched condition? For all I know, he might make a show of offering prayers of thanks to God for His goodness, but God is far more interested in how you SHOW the sincerity of your heart. But maybe Brother Cashflow turns a blind eye to James Chapter 2 which warns against showing favoritism to the rich, and exhorts the faithful to be kind to the poor.
James 2:13 says: For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment.
I'm reminded of the Parable of the Unmerciful Servant in Matthew Chapter 18. A certain servant owes his rich master the equivalent of millions of dollars. He is unable to pay the debt so the master orders him to be sold into slavery along with his wife and children, and everything else he has is to be sold to make a dent in that terrible debt. But the man tearfully pleads with his master to take pity on him. So what does the master do but forgive this man's debt altogether and wipe the slate clean? Isn't that how God deals with each one of us when we come to Jesus and ask Him to forgive us our debt of sin (Matt.6:12)?
So how does the man repay his master's kindness? Along comes some other servant who owes a picayune debt of about fifteen dollars to the servant who was released from his own monstrous debt. In verse 28 the servant grabs the debtor by the throat and snarls "Pay up!" The debtor pleads for mercy but the unmerciful servant won't even listen. Instead he casts his fellow servant into prison until such time as he can pay back the fifteen dollars.
The other servants of the master's household are horrified when they hear about what this unmerciful servant has done. The master calls him to account for it and says, "Oh, you wicked servant, I forgave you all that debt just because you asked me. Shouldn't you have also taken pity on your fellow-servant, just as I took pity on you? It was then the master's attitude toward the wicked servant changes from grace to anger. Think about that. The servant who was forgiven a debt as vast as the heavens fell out of favor with his master by being mean to someone else. He who was dealt with in grace instead of judgment wasted his grace and lost it. His angry master turns him over to be tortured in prison until such time as he is able to repay the millions of dollars he owes, which is probably never.
Brother Cashflow (if he is truly born again) was forgiven an unimaginable debt for sins committed. He enjoys an abundance of good things, far more than he needs to sustain earthly life. But he refused to show mercy towards a fellow beiever. Instead, he turned him over to the tormentors by calling him a racist name and holding him up to public scorn. If Brother Cashflow failed (or refused) to repent of this terrible sin he stands in danger of the judgment of God (Matt.5:22). Jesus said that even if you call your brother raca, which means worthless, you stand in danger of the judgment council. If you call him a fool you're in danger of an even worse fate!
Brother Cashflow probably justifies what he did on grounds of "church discipline". But even if his target had been guilty of a real sin like adultery or some other vice, how can you call a racial insult "discipline"? And, most likely, Brother Cashflow's true motive was to instill fear of non-tithing in the other cash cows of his pasture. This is contrary to Peter's counsel for the elders of the church (my own comments are in parentheses):
I Peter 5:1 The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder (not a dictator). And a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory which shall be revealed (some seek their glory in the here and now).
VERSE 2: Feed (don't fleece) the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind;
VERSE 3: Neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being ensamples (examples for imitation) to the flock.
VERSE 4: And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away (no mention of monetary reward in the here and now).
Lots of teaching is spewing from pulpits about "planting a seed", and it almost always refers to money seed being planted in the rich soil of a rich man's ministry . But just think about the seed Brother Cashflow planted in the heart and mind of the man he insulted from the pulpit. If that man associated the Lord with the man in the pulpit, how will his own love toward Jesus be affected by the pulpit abuse he suffered? Was the man embittered by the abuse? Did he wonder if he was just as precious to God as the man in the pulpit? Brother Cashflow supposedly represents the Lord, but would Jesus publicly humiliate a poor man who did no one any harm? Especially a man who did not break a valid Biblical command directed to New Testament believers?
In the mind of Brother Cashflow his public humiliation of the poor non-tither was an execution of judgment against what he considers to be a sin: non-tithing. Aside from the fact there is absolutely no Scriptural authority for imposing tithing on Christ's New Covenant Priesthood of all believers, the fact remains that if the incident happened as reported, it was an unwarranted and vicious act of vengeance on a vulnerable man. It is an abuse of pulpit power (aside from the fact Peter and Paul probably didn't preach from pulpits)!
Brother Cashflow knew he was lord of his own church, so he was the one who occupied the position of prestige and power there. He had access to wealth the early apostles never saw in their lifetimes. He knew hearts and minds were on his side because the souls present were people he'd personally indoctrinated with dodgy doctrines. But God isn't impressed by self-important celebrities. He always judges fairly and righteously. Right is right and wrong is wrong, regardless of who does what to whom. Even if no one in the sanctuary took sides with the non-tither, God does not bow to majority opinion. God is no respector of persons (Col.3:25). God is not impressed with any preacher's financial status or standing in the religious community. He isn't even impressed by educational degrees conferred by men. Jesus observed how the self-important Pharisees abused their knowledge of Scripture and twisted it to serve their own ends.
Brother Cashflow pastors thousands, so how did he know what this particular individual put in the offering anyhow? What business is it of the leadership what each individual gives or doesn't give? Jesus commanded that giving (no mention of tithing) be done in secret (Matt.6:3-4). Jesus had a negative opinion of filthy lucre anyway. Whenever Jesus does mention giving, it almost always means giving alms to the poor. But the opposite is happening today: the poor are being fleeced to make the rich richer.
How would the pulpit police be able to keep tabs on your contributions if you quietly slipped old-fashioned anonymous cash into the offering bag instead of writing out checks or using plastic? That would drive the church accountant crazy if everyone did that! It would be harder to report people to the pastor for not "tithing" their fair share. But it would help prevent some other poor soul from being lambasted from the pulpit, wouldn't it?
Church bills must be paid, but they ought to be paid only with freewill offerings. Take an attitude of responsibility to help as much as the Lord enables, but if poor people aren't welcome at your church it should make you wonder if the poor Carpenter from Nazareth would have been welcome there.
Suppose a group of college kids moves into the same house to save expenses. They all understand that each person is expected to contribute his fair share toward keeping the lights on and the rent paid. They decide everyone will eat a big dinner together every night at ten, when everyone is home from work. Brad, in whose name the house was leased, has offered to do all the cooking because he is a gourmet chef. So Brad himself is exempt from having to contribute money toward the common food fund. Brad's ingredients are very costly and every one of the other roommates must contribute his or her fair share so Brad can cook for them. If for whatever reason somebody either can't or won't pay, the others must cover his share and pay it to Brad.
The house the students share is a luxury mansion with high overhead. Rich boy Brad wouldn't be caught dead living in anything less. At first, everything goes well. Then one of the students can't cough up his rent in time because the burger joint he worked at burned down. Everyone else is supportive…at first, and the penniless student continues to join the others for dinner in the evening.
Brad, the student who was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, doesn't even have to work. His own share of the rent and bills is covered by a generous trust fund. Brad collects rent and other bill payments from the other students. He handles all the finances of the household. Brad's got money to burn. He could easily afford to help out the unemployed student who once related to him as a friend. But Brad finds it fun to play power games with weaker people. At first, Brad just acts a little testy toward the other guy. Then he freezes him out altogether and won't even speak to him.
When cold-shouldering doesn't do the trick, Brad yells at him. He calls him a worthless hippie bum who just wants to mooch off everybody else. Brad isn't afraid to do it, either, because he's richer and enjoys the highest status in the house. Finally he snarls: "Pay up or move out and we'll rent out your share of the house to somebody who can pay!" People who started out as buddies can develop an entirely different viewpoint of one another when money enters the equation!
The hippie who couldn't afford the fancy house get fed up with being penalized for his poverty. He decides it's not worth the hassle to hang out in a ritzy mansion and eat food he can't afford. So he hocks his CD collection for gas money. Then he drives away in his old van. He pitches a teepee in the woods and camps out with woodpeckers and squirrels who never worry about money. The hippie eats at a soup kitchen. The food isn't as fancy as what Brad serves every night, but at least it isn't seasoned with sarcasm (Prov.15:17). Even more food can be obtained from a food bank to help till times get better.
Most anyone would say the jobless hippie has hit rock bottom. But hey, his new home's a lot cheaper, isn't it, and Brad isn't breathing down his neck anymore for taking up his space and eating his expensive food!
Far better to worship in the wilderness with woodpeckers than to get picked on by pocket-pickin' vultures. Many Christians feel like they just can't afford the fancy fixtures anymore, especially the one in the fancy suit.
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