Have You Been Bought – or sold?

Deuteronomy 16:19 “Thou shalt not wrest judgment; thou shalt not respect persons, neither take a gift: for a gift doth blind the eyes of the wise, and pervert the words of the righteous.”

The above verse states that gifts (money) cloud our judgment at crucial times in our lives when we should rather be led by the Holy Spirit.  Our culture respects people according to how much money they have, what they own and what they look like. We manipulate each other with gifts (money) for the sole purpose of swaying the judgment of another. 

Whether now or later, every time we allow ourselves to be swayed by money, guilt will surely follow.  There is always a price to pay, money to be reimbursed, court to attend, a conscious defiled, etc. But the above Bible verse becomes sooooooo relevant after the dust settles!

I went to the store to return a defective item.  At the counter, I submitted my receipt to the clerk, she reimbursed me, I thanked her and began to walk off.  As I was walking, I began to count my money.  I realized she gave me too much (by a few dollars).  I heard the spirit say, “turn around and return the overpayment”.  I made a few more steps and the spirit said, “It’s not yours!”.  I made a few more steps and He said, “Peter denied me 3 times”.  I did an about face and took it back.  When I told the girl she gave me too much money, she looked and me and rolled her eyes, and took back the money in quiet disgust like, “A smart person would’ve kept it, dummy”. 

At first, I did feel a little bit silly…but then I thought, “…but my conscious is clear tho’, so holla!”.

you can’t buy peace, you must bear it (it’s a Spiritual fruit) ~Terri

The world places price tags on things that are priceless – things that were not created to be bought and sold or appraised by humans – like the worth of another human being. As a follower of Christ, you’ve already been bought with a price, so you shouldn’t be for sale.  You’ve been purchased by Christ with His blood, not money. It is impossible to buyback something that has been purchased with the blood of Jesus – you can’t afford it – and God doesn’t accept money.

you know someone’s relationship with their God by their relationship with their money ~Terri

The Bible says, “The LOVE of money is the root of all evil” because money brings out the pride in people.  People who love money are attracted to dollar signs and all their energy and time are directed towards the dollar.  They also use money as their primary bargaining tool.  Their love comes from their pocket not their heart. They also feel that since they can be bought, everybody can be bought.

“Greedy-Christian” is an oxymoron ~Terri

Greed is sin, and there is no way you can be a born-again follower of Christ, and be greedy.  I’ve seen so-called “Christians” commit many sins for the sake of money.  How you get your money matters to God.  If you’re not getting it God’s way, it probably involves sin.  God gives His followers the ability to get wealth; therefore, He should be involved in our finances.

Will it violate scripture?

I’ve seen “Christians” hoard money because they are afraid of going broke, as if God can’t make a way or they don’t trust Him.  When you hoard money and worry about tomorrow, you miss out on the things God wants you to do today.  You also neglect yourself and your family financially today because you’re worried about tomorrow.  Matthew 6:34 says, “Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself.”

Regardless of the reason we hoard, overspend, lie or steal for money (and the things money represents), the bottom line is – if you’ve done these things, you’ve essentially named your price, and you’ve been sold.

We’ve all seen Christians sell things that belong to God.  Matthew 10:8 says, ^“Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.” I refuse to try and make a profit from anything that comes from God – unless He specifically tells me so. 

This blog belongs to God, and He tells me what to write.  I will not use gimmicks to appeal to readers and draw traffic because it is not my business who reads it.  My business is to write it.  God freely passes this information through me as I pass it to you.  It didn’t cost me much monetarily (only for the yearly cost of the website) because I already had computer knowledge to setup the blog.  God provides for me in other ways, and insures I have whatever I need (and many of the things I want).  

Whenever God sends you to do something, He will also fund it.  He will not command you to do something – and then abandon you high and dry.

no! everyone does NOT have a price ~Terri

When I became homeless, God told me to go to my car so He could dictate a book. I could have easily risen in pride and said,

“H-E double hockey sticks No!” or

“Why would I do that when you have cattle on a thousand hills!” or

“People will look down on me!” or

“Why can’t I do it from a mansion?” 

But God knew He could trust me to go low because I was already at His feet.  I knew that no matter how low I looked to man, I was the highest in Christ – because I was surrendered to His mission.  The whole time I was in my car writing the book, Christ was right there with me as He dictated it.  Me and God are tight…that’s why I will go low for Him to do whatever needs done, no matter how I look.

I know for a fact most people will not go low for Christ.  They will move in with their boyfriends/girlfriends, steal some money, lie, cheat, or anything to keep from looking “bad”. 

We walk pass people every day in this world, not knowing what kind of mission they may be on for God, as you look down on them.

talk is cheap in the kingdom of God ~Terri

Matthew 19:21 Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.