LIBERALITY, AVARICE AND PARSIMONY (PART 3)
By Rev.Michael Benson Ajayi
Eccl 5:13-15 “ There is another
serious problem I have seen under the sun. Hoarding riches harms the saver. Money is put into risky investments that turn
sour, and everything is lost. In the end, there is nothing left to pass on to
one's children. We all come to the end of our lives as naked and empty-handed
as on the day we were born. We can't take our riches with us.”
This scripture is a reminder of the reality
all humans must face; our riches will be of no use to us at death and in the afterlife :this is the vanity of parsimony.
Parsimony is the extreme unwillingness to spend money or use resources. Nothing
frustrates the spread of the gospel like parsimonious, religious Christians. These
persons have more love for material wealth than they do for the Lord. They have
built their security around money and find it hard to experience true love. You
must be able to hate money to love God –we cannot love both equally-and our
love for Him is demonstrated through love for one another. Thus,
parsimony is the reason behind many failed relationships and marriages.
Parsimony and avarice (the desire for
excessive gain) are closely related and are a terrible combination. The presence of parsimonious Christians in a
church gives Satan the advantage over that ministry. One cannot truly make
meaningful progress by being parsimonious. A man’s wealth is not measured by
how much money he has but how cordial his relationship is with God and the
degree of peace and joy in his family. The kingdom of God is not about having
exotic dinners but righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, this is how
true wealth and riches is measured. Prov
11:24 TLB Says “ It is possible to give away and become richer! It is also
possible to hold on too tightly and lose everything. Yes, the liberal man shall
be rich! By watering others, he waters himself.”
Parsimonious folks are under the illusion
that they are the true owners of the resources in their possession but in
reality God is .Storing up riches results in pains (Eccl.5:13) parsimonious
folks often oppose acts of generosity towards God’s servants (Matt.26:7-8) and
it brings about self afflicted curses (Prov.28:27). In the old testament, worship was hindered by
the activities of parsimonious brethren (Neh.13:10,1 Chron29:7) and it grieves the Spirit of grace Isa 43:24 KJV says “Thou hast bought me no sweet cane
with money, neither hast thou filled me with the fat of thy sacrifices: but
thou hast made me to serve with thy sins, thou hast wearied me with thine
iniquities” the consequences of
parsimony and avarice are not farfetched . They result in disobedience and
rebellion in families (1Sam.15:9,) proliferation of criminal gangs and robbers
in the society (1Kings 20:6) Lack of emotional feelings and insensitivity to
true love (1Kings21:2) oppression (Ge.31:41) Lack of moral principles
(2Ki.5:20) and mockery (Lu.16:14)
Parsimony leads to painful
disappointments in marriages due to a lack of fulfillment (Ecc5:10) it results
in unwise decisions which negatively impacts on the family (Je17:11) also backsliding and rejection of Jesus Christ (1Tim.6:10) loneliness and emotional
depression (Ja 5:3) Rev 3:17 TLB "You say, 'I am rich, with everything I
want; I don't need a thing!' And you don't realize that spiritually you are
wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked.” We should allow God’s word touch our hearts
and ask Him to open eyes to the purpose of the things committed to
our care.
As you receive Jesus Christ as lord and savior
and read this now ,receive grace for uncommon breakthroughs and access to the
secret treasures of the land in Jesus name .
Prayer+2348098536911,+2348035536911
email:michaelbensonajayi@gmail.com
pics credit. timesofsandiego. com/pixabay
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