Over the past 70 years of my life I have met lots of poor people. I have learned that being poor is often not a lack of money, but people are poor in many different ways. Having no money is usually a symptom of another problem that is undercover and often never addressed or taken care of. To give a poor person money, usually will not fix the problem, because something more urgent is needed. Giving a poor person money can and in many cases destroy him.
Hard as it may seem, poor people often ignore opportunities before them. They get easily offended and are quick to quit. Virtue does not spring up lightly. Another thing that I have discovered is poor people like to think that they know it all. Aristotle said it requires precept, example, habit, and ideas that echo richly through the Book of Proverbs and are proven by the character of Christ. Was King Solomon poor? No! He was the wealthiest man ever. Was Jesus Christ poor? I have heard many people, including ministers, say that He was. But after examining the scriptures I see the truth. He was wealthy! Would a poor man have a treasurer? Jesus had one. His name was Judas. Everywhere He went people sought Him out. This is notorious for the rich and famous, never the poor. His robe was so desirable that the Roman soldiers gambled for it. Had His robe been a rag, nobody would have wanted it. Women of renown and wealthy men supported Jesus with their money. He was buried in a rich man’s tomb. What was it that these two men had in common to make them wealthy? They had a desire to please God, a desire to help others, and a desire to fulfill their God called purpose. Sadly, among the poor we often find little appetite for these virtues that lead to prosperity. People who grow up poor usually have a poor self-image. Usually they have an unrealistic concept about life which stifles their ability. And our political system is not helpful because it gives to those who do not earn their way and takes from those who do. Our government is one of the biggest wasters of money. It interprets laziness as some kind of disease and gives money to support the cause. Helping the poor is difficult because poverty can be a mindset. Most poor people are so programmed to be poor that if they had a lot they would still be poor. To get out of that poverty mindset it takes a transformation of the mind. This is something that only God can do. I like what someone coined: “If you want to feed a person for a day give him a fish. If you want to feed a person for a life-time, teach him how to fish.” There are several lessons to be learned from fishing. You must have the right bait. There must be a desire to catch fish. Patience is necessary. It is a stinky job. There can be pain involved, but the results far outweigh a poverty mindset. When a fish is caught there is much joy. Life can be discouraging but those who are successful, fish on! For more information and service times visit us online at www.JoyChristianMinistries.com It takes a long time to fill a glass with drops of water. Even when the glass seems full, it can still take one, two, three, four, or five more additional drops. But if you will keep at it, there is at last that one drop that makes the glass overflow. The same analogy can apply to deeds of kindness. In a series of kindnesses there is at last one that makes the heart run over.
Kindness has its own law: “She opens her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness” (Proverbs 31:26). A person guided by the law of kindness will speak encouragingly. He will have a bright attitude. He will smile a lot. He will put out positive vibes. I have found, personally, that one of the most difficult things to give away is kindness, for it, like a boomerang, returns. Yeah, I know there are people all around us who are like a raging bull and no matter how they are treated will snort. But the general consensus is if we give kindness away it will come back to us. The law of kindness declares: “A man that hath friends must show himself friendly; and there is a friend that sticks closer than a brother” (Proverbs 18:24). A friendly person is kind and does not have a problem treating people with respect. A kind person is delightful, considerate, honest, and a joy to be with. “You can accomplish by kindness,” wrote Publius Syrus, “what you cannot by force.” William B. McKinley, President of the United States from 1897-1901, was a man who understood this principle. During one of his campaigns, a reporter from an opposition newspaper followed him constantly and just as persistently misrepresented McKinley’s views. Eventually, during the campaign, the weather became extremely cold and even though the reporter didn’t have sufficiently warm clothing, he still followed McKinley. One bitter cold evening, the president-to-be was riding in his closed carriage and the young reporter sat shivering on the driver’s seat outside. McKinley stopped the carriage and invited the reporter to put on his coat and ride with him inside the warm carriage. The young man, astonished, protested that McKinley knew that he was opposition and that he wasn’t going to stop opposing McKinley during the campaign. He knew that, but was not out to seek revenge. In the remaining days of the campaign the reporter continued to oppose McKinley but never again did he write anything unfair or biased about the future president. God’s law says, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof” (Proverbs 18:21). So in essence, a sharp and piercing tongue can kill a person’s spirit, where a kind tongue will give hope and encouragement. I would have to say that a kind tongue will never be wrong and a toxic tongue will always be deadly. So, may your tongue be always oozing with sweet kindness. Just think of all the awesome results that will be produced just by having a sweet and kind tongue. For more information and service times you can visit us online at www.JoyChristianMinistries.com. The Civil War had just ended and the opportunistic scalawags were busy oppressing their fellow Southerners. A hot-blooded contingency of die-hard former rebels gained an audience with President Lincoln. His gentle and friendly manner soon thawed the ice and the Southerners left with a new respect for their old foe. A northern congressman approached the president and criticized him for “befriending the enemy” suggesting that instead of befriending them he should have had them shot for the traitors they were. Lincoln smiled and replied: “Am I not destroying my enemies by making them my friends?”
Many people think that freedom is the license to do whatsoever a person wants, but freedom is the ability to do what is right when pressured to do wrong. By making our enemy our friend we show the strength to take control of a tense situation. I like what King Solomon said: “He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that rules his spirit than he that takes a city” (Proverbs 16:32). When we are able to control our attitude and emotions we are stronger than our enemy. We are free from guilt and anger. This is total freedom. While still a young boy a certain Christian formed the habit of praying beside his bed before he went to sleep. Later when he joined the army he kept up the practice. He became the object of mockery and ridicule in the barracks. One night as he knelt to pray after a long weary march, one of his tormentors took off his muddy boots and threw them at him, one at a time, hitting him on each side of his head. The Christian said nothing, took the persecutor’s boots, put them beside the bed and continued to pray. The next morning when the other soldier woke up he found his polished and shined boots beside his bed. It so affected him that he asked for forgiveness and after a short time he became a Christian. The Christian young man was free to react but he chose to do what was right and his enemy became his friend. He remained free. He proved to be stronger than his enemy. Take a look at Jesus Christ. He was totally free even when surrounded by His enemies. And He had a lot of them. They were constantly trying to get at Him hoping to get some kind of reaction, but He never fell prey to their twisted schemes. He stayed in control. He could not be manipulated. He lived by His own creed: “love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you” (Matthew 5:44). The reason being, we keep the control. We have peace. We remain free and happy and whole. Our enemy can’t get a handle on us and this can be very frustrating for him. He can’t manipulate our emotions which puts him to shame. If we can control our emotions and our tongue we are the strong one, and even better, by doing something good for our enemy he might just become our best friend. For more info and service times you can visit us online at www.JoyChristianMinistries.com. |
Pastor J.C. Myers, III
Pastor J.C. founded Joy Christian Ministries in 1992. He was Sr. Pastor at Joy Christian Ministries in West Sacramento, California from 1992-2016. He was succeeded by his 2nd son, Pastor Brandon Myers who had been under his father's ministry and teaching for 39 years. Archives
February 2017
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