Tuesday, June 26, 2018
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SHOULD BLACK PEOPLE NOT JOIN WHITE CHURCHES?
Wednesday, June 20, 2018
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How Should The Saints Respond to June LGBT Pride Month?
Tuesday, June 5, 2018
Friday, June 1, 2018
SHOULD PEOPLE HELP JESSE DUPLANTIS PURCHASE A $54 MILLION PRIVATE JET?
http://www.jdm.org/xw-partnerupdate.aspx
I have been observing this conversation
on the sidelines. What drew me into it, was the fact that I received this video
from Jesse Duplantis Ministries, tonight in my email; addressed to all of his
partners. In the video he addresses the controversy regarding the private jet.
For ministries of the caliber of
Duplantis’ (colloquially called “mega ministries”) that reach millions (and
possibly billions) of people; having a private jet is not unusual at all. For
17 years I was on staff with Joyce Meyer Ministries. She travelled the world in
a private jet. But, I can tell you first hand (1) she was a good steward over
her finances (2) she ministered to millions of poor people around the world (3)
she took good care of all of her employees. So the (ministry owned) private jet
was very much in order with the type of finances on hand and the immense amount
of people reached.
In the video Jesse said that he was
“believing” for a new jet. It is really hard to criticize Jesse for “believing”
for something; when there are so many Scriptures that apparently back up his
statement, for example:
Psalm 37:4 Take delight
in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Mark 11:24 24Therefore
I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it,
and it will be yours.
No one is forced to give Jesse any money
for a jet. If you believe in his ministry; help him get the jet. If you do not
believe in it; do not help him. Yes, it would be wrong for a person struggling
to feed their family to send Jesse money. First, they should be paying tithes
to their own local church. Next, they should be taking care of their own
family. IF, there is anything left over; it is their choice to give to Jesse’s
ministry OR not at all.
I have had personal situations happen in
my family’s history where I have “been there done that.” Our family was going
through financial difficulty that was brutal and (to me) demonic. I continued
to pay my tithes. I worked and provided for my family. Then I took little small
offerings of $2.00 here and there and (as an act of faith) gave offerings to
different ministries that were doing what I was “believing” God for me to do. I
was not trying to buy anything from God. I was simply demonstrating my faith in
Him. According to Hebrews 11:6 God rewarded my faith and blessed my family
beyond anything we could have imagined.
Its situations like this that really
cause us to do inventory on our own heart. WHY are we so upset? Is it that we
are really concerned about the poor? Or are we covetous of Jesse’s success? I
am certain that if anyone reading this blog was offered a $54 million private
jet we would take it; and then testify that God has blessed us!
Why can’t God bless someone else?
Covetousness and jealousy are JUST AS BAD as failing to take care of the poor
and less fortunate. Covetousness is defined as, “having or showing a great
desire to possess something belonging to someone else.”[1] Jealousy is
defined as, “feeling or showing envy of someone or their achievements and
advantages.”[2] As a matter of
fact; it’s included as one of the Ten Commandments:
Exodus 20:17 17"You
shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's
wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs
to your neighbor."
1 Corinthians 3:3 3You are
still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you
not worldly? Are you not acting like mere humans?
Ephesians 5:3 3But
fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named
among you, as becometh saints;
among you, as becometh saints;
The Bible admonishes us to take care of
the poor. If Jesse Duplantis is keeping this as a priority; he will be in line
with Scripture (during my Joyce Meyer days, Jesse Duplantis Ministries was
somewhat of a “sister ministry.” You would be surprised at the amount of money
that ministries like that spend on feeding, clothing, sheltering and
ministering to the poor):
Matthew 25:34-35 34"Then
the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my
Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation
of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was
thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in,
Galatians 2:10 10All they
asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I had
been eager to do all along.
But, the Bible also allows for some
luxuries to be enjoyed by ministers. There was much controversy about a VERY
EXPENSIVE fragrance being spent on Jesus. The backlash wasn’t from the public;
it was from HIS OWN DISCIPLES! But, here was his response:
Matthew 26:6-11 6While Jesus
was in Bethany in the home of Simon the Leper, 7a woman came to him with an
alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, which she poured on his head as he was
reclining at the table. 8When the disciples saw this, they were indignant.
"Why this waste?" they asked. 9"This perfume could have been
sold at a high price and the money given to the poor." 10Aware of this,
Jesus said to them, "Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a
beautiful thing to me. 11The poor you will always have with you, but you will
not always have me.
The good thing about the Word of God, is
that it fits everyone’s circumstances. It does not have a “cookie cutter”
approach. Every Bible character’s experience is not the same. For example, some
Bible characters were very rich and some Bible characters were very poor.
The Bible is filled with people who were
fairly wealthy; for example: Abraham, Moses (he was raised in lavish wealth
even though he chose latter to suffer with God’s people – Hebrews 11:24) and
David:
Genesis 13:2 2Abram had
become very wealthy in livestock and in silver and gold.
Acts 7:21 21When he
was placed outside, Pharaoh's daughter took him and brought him up as her own
son.
2 Samuel 12:2 2The rich
man had a very large number of sheep and cattle.
And, in contrast, the Bible also has
people who were very poor: for example: Lazarus and also the members of the Corinthian
church
Luke 16:20 20At his
gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores.
1 Corinthians 1:26 26Brothers
and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were
wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble
birth.
So, if Bible characters lived in our
time; you would have some with private jets and others who were restricted to
catching rides with other people. Neither poverty nor wealth is a virtue.
Neither being rich or poor makes a person holy or not. This is why the writer of
proverbs asked for neither one:
Proverbs 30:9 9Otherwise,
I may have too much and disown you and say, 'Who is the LORD?' Or I may become
poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God.
To be brutally honest (as one that
travels and crisscrosses this nation and abroad on a regular basis) I wish that
EVERY minister could fly by private jet (and I know that most ministers WOULD
accept flying that way – I know I would - so we need to leave Jesse
alone). Flying is not what is used to be. Airlines have always been after
profit. But, customer service and comfort has completely gone out of the
window. And, that is AFTER everything you have to endure with TSA (safety is
understood; lack of professionalism and customer service is NOT)
As a traveler, it is my observation that
things changed after 9/11. An evil terrorist situation (9/11) was used to start
cutting any amenities that at one time made airline travel (in a metal tube,
35,000 ft. in the air, surrounded by complete strangers) more endurable: snacks,
free transport of luggage, sufficient leg room, etc. Travel in “economy” is
pretty much a “cattle call.” You make the best of it on short hauls. But, it is
torture on 13 hour flights across the Atlantic. First Class (from my
experience) is not that much better; the advantage is legroom and more personal
space.
While I like Delta; wherever you go in the United States and
abroad, if you fly on that airline, you will have to go through Atlanta; no matter how
far out of the way it is. That is extremely taxing on your body. Especially if
your inbound flight is late and your next flight is on the other side of the
airport.
I was travelling on Southwest Airlines (where you can choose any seat) nonstop from Saint Louis to Los Angeles. The section of the plane I was in
literally wreaked of Marijuana. It was like the party bus. I went to the back to rest. But that was where the party was. By the time I arrived in Los Angeles I was
literally sick from the smell. It took at least 24 hours to recover from that.
(You may ask, “Why didn’t you evangelize?” One thing laypersons must realize is
that no minister should work 24/7. There are times (just like other normal
people) you need to rest, eat, recreate or simply get from point A to point B.
If anyone is preaching 24/7 that person is definitely out of balance).
As far as United, they are notorious (in my
experience) for late flights and cancellations. Once I had to drive halfway
across the country to make a ministerial event because I experienced two
cancellations and a delay on this airline.
And the attitude of the airlines most
times is, “it’s your problem deal with it.” I felt real bad for an older couple
I observed recently that missed their cruise because of a delay with American
Airlines. I also was delayed; however, my circumstances was not as dire as
people who were looking forward to a once in a lifetime experience as a couple.
So while it is valid to discuss Jesse
Duplantis and the $54 million dollar jet; let’s also add to the narrative the
way travelers are treated by the airline industry.
[1]https://www.bing.com/search?q=covetousness+defiend&form=EDGEAR&qs=PF&cvid=141b934a04924a36b0198aa3b066bc24&cc=US&setlang=en-US&PC=HCTS. (Accessed, May 31, 2018).
[2] https://www.bing.com/search?q=jealous+definition&qs=SC&pq=jealou+defined&sk=SC1&sc=8-14&cvid=0638B0A6B8D4486FA9B6223FDD6BBF27&FORM=QBRE&sp=2.
(Accessed, May 31, 2018).
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