Stewardship Series: The Discipline of Saying No

There is no greater discipline than the discipline of saying no. If you are a parent than saying no to your child has been a long and arduous task as your child can wear you down with their constant pleading. One day your child will move out and not have anyone to say no to them. They will have to become their own parent and judge what they should and shouldn't do. Unfortunately, we live in a self-indulgent society and we are constantly bombarded with ads that wear us down with their constant pleading until we give in to their sales pitch. Just think about it. There you are on a diet and they keep featuring mouth watering burgers eaten by skinny, sexy models. Realistically, we all know you will not look like that if you eat at these burger places but the companies don't care about the truth they just want to make money even if that means that you will die from their unhealthy food. 

When you sit down to eat with a ruler,
Consider carefully what is before you;
2 And put a knife to your throat
If you are a man given to appetite.
3 Do not desire his delicacies,
For they are deceptive food. Proverbs 23:1-3

Take some time to observe the commercials run during Saturday morning cartoons. The children are bombarded by ads on the latest toys, junk cereals, fast food and fun places they can go. They are being trained from toddlers how to be consumers and saying yes to everything they watch on TV. As we grow up things don't change the items just become more expensive. Take some time to think about the commercials we watch. The message the companies are giving us are all the same. You will be sexier, have more friends, look cooler, be admired by all if you buy all the latest cars, boats, jewelry, perfumes, clothes, beer, and go to the most exotic vacations around the world. They will even offer you the money up front with interest so you can be that wonderful person now. You only need to say yes to their credit cards. 

Here is the problem. Some people have not learned the discipline of saying no. Therefore, they buy things they can't afford, eat things that make them sick, do things that they shouldn't do and waste time they could be using to be productive.  For instance we buy things we can't afford and get into debt because we don't want to wait to save money. We get credit cards because we don't want to wait to save up for things we can't afford now. This lack of discipline causes people to be poor. You may have many luxury items at home but be in so much debt that your large income goes to paying debt every month. Having these items doesn't make you rich. A lot of rich people are just as poor because they are borrowers just like everybody else. Our government is in a huge crisis because they too have become servants to their debts and lenders. They have even stolen from us to pay their debts. If they could only say no. 

The rich rules over the poor, And the borrower is servant to the lender. (Proverbs 22:7)

When it comes to eating we are all guilty of not saying no. We get hungry we eat without a single thought of long term health problems. We go to the nearest fast food restaurant and because we have no discipline to cook at home we stuff our bodies with saturated fats, empty calories, nutrient deficient food that causes to gain weight. In this country we indulge at buffets that have enough calories to support a small village in Africa. The holidays become an occasion to gorge ourselves despite our poor stomach begging us to stop. People smoke, drink, do drugs, and all other kinds of things to their bodies because they can't say no. Whether it be peer pressure, addiction, family traditions, or cultural norm we go along with the crowd not thinking about the outcome. At the end we will be the ones who sit in the hospital bed alone with tubes hanging out of us wondering where all those wonderful friends are and how we let ourselves be fooled into thinking this was a good idea. 

Wine is a mocker, Strong drink is a brawler, And whoever is led astray by it is not wise. (Proverbs 20:1)

Those ad pushers don't stop at tempting us to eat, drink, party, and borrow money so we can have more toys. They also push sex. Sex sells. That's why they use it to sell things that have nothing to do with sex like a hamburger. We are so gullible. There is a problem though, sex outside a godly relationship and covenant makes a huge mess. Just ask the guys who are now in jail for not paying child support or who have lost their license or are in so much debt that they will never pay it off until they die. Let's talk to the kids without dads and the single moms without anyone to help them. Once again people succumb to temporary pleasure instead of doing things the right way. Hey ladies how do you like being cheated out of a nice wedding? How about you guys? Do you like having to marry a girl you really don't love because she got pregnant? Do you like to have your child raised by someone else?
For the ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord,
And He ponders all his paths.
22 His own iniquities entrap the wicked man,
And he is caught in the cords of his sin.
23 He shall die for lack of instruction,
And in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray. (Proverbs 5:21-23).

What if everyone waited until they could afford things, found out more about the person they were dating and counted their calories. I bet we would be less miserable. What if we stood up to the ad pushers became parents to ourselves and said no. What if we thought about the long term effects of our eating habits, spending habits and relationships? What rewards could we reap from being disciplined to say no. Can you imagine being in good health, prosperous and happily married? If you learn to wait, not settle for less and make good decisions, you can have all that... Just say no. 

How much better to get wisdom than gold!
And to get understanding is to be chosen rather than silver.

The highway of the upright is to depart from evil;
He who keeps his way preserves his soul. (Proverbs 16:16-17).

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Jaziz Gutierrez
http://www.loverevivalrevolution.com

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God is not a Republican

Before you get offended let me explain why God is not a Republican. First of all, God is not into capitalism which is the main mindset behind the Republican platform. Capitalism is based on the idea that each individual should take care of their own lives in a free market society without the interference of government. Not a problem. However, Capitalism also sends the message that the poor must fend for themselves and only the strongest survive. The common idea among most of the rich is that they have no responsibility towards the poor and shouldn't help them because for most part they must be lazy if they are poor. I hear this a lot even from Christians. While that might be a pervasive cultural thought it is not way God thinks.  The truth is many single mom's struggle to make ends meet every month while fathers go on living their life absent from their children's lives. A whole generation of children have been raised without one or both parents due to divorce, drugs, abuse, death or crime. I meet them everyday when my children bring their friends over.

Unfortunately, as a result of this Capitalistic mindset the church has spent decades building bigger barns or ministries instead of offering a solution to a fatherless generation, single parents and widows. Just yesterday my husband took the time to help a young man who lost his mother at 14 years old and lost his father when he accidently got shot by police in a crossfire. This young man had also served in Afghanistan. He was also taking care of his brother's children while attending school. These are the types of people we need to extend our time, love and resources to.

Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world. James 1:27
Recently, I watched a documentary on some man claiming to be Jesus in Russia and people were flocking to him by the van load. Why?  This ex-police officer bought some land and set up communal living in the beautiful countryside.  Everyone there contributes to the well being of the community. They plant their own food, live healthy and they live in peace. When the reporter asked the people why they went to live there it was for three reasons: food, shelter and peaceful living.  None of those had to do with doctrine or truth. They didn't seem to care what this fake Jesus believed because he showed them he cared. We need to offer real solutions to people's problems. The truth is Catholics do more for the poor than their Protestant counterparts. Mormons take care of their own church family members better than we do. At one point in time we were sending out more missionaries into the world than any other religion. Now Mormons, Jehovah Witnesses and Seventh Day Adventists outnumber us on the streets. Why? We have become part of a new revival Chad Taylor coined as the "Revival of No Responsibility."

From the pulpit to the pew; Capitalism has become pervasive way of life. I will call this "Building Bigger Barns" syndrome. We have spent years building crystal cathedrals while the city was being taken over by gangs, poverty and being laid waste by the enemy.  We have stored up for ourselves closets full of stuff while others walk around in the same clothes day after day. We have filled up our tables for Thanksgiving while others around us have no food. We don't even bother to ask people in the church if they have anywhere to go on the holidays. We eat at the restaurants every Sunday with the church elite while others go home to empty refrigerators. We throw our left over change in a basket and think God is pleased. Is He? This reminds me of a story in the bible about a man who had gotten an abundance of wealth but instead of giving the extra to others he decided to build bigger barns.

And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.”’ ²⁰ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’ ²¹ “So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.” Luke 12:19-21

I used to be a property manager of a storage and believe it or not the number one thing that always intrigued me was how people could not let go of their stuff. I knew one man that paid $249. a month for two storages that were filled with newspaper from top to bottom. One day I had to ask him why he had so many newspapers. He told me he read the health articles. Wow! This is a great example of how many of us are filled with knowledge but are really in the dark about our mental and spiritual state. This is so sad.

Ever watch those hoarder shows on TV? There has been times when some of these people have been found buried under their possessions. Our nation is literally drowning in stuff while the rest of the world lives in poverty! Our nation throws away food by the tons! The stores destroy it so no one can get it out of their garbage cans. This is selfish behavior. The military throws away rations that have expired. My husband has seen it personally. Yet, the nation of Israel always allowed their poor to glean the fields after harvesting.

Do you remember the story of the rich young ruler? Here is a recap: A young man offers to follow Jesus. This young man had lived a very obedient life to God but couldn't let go of one thing... ²¹ Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” ²² But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. Matthew 19:21-22
I want you to note that Jesus did not ask him to give the money to tax collectors, the temple or even His own ministry. He said to give it to the poor.

He who has pity on the poor lends to the Lord, And He will pay back what he has given.
Proverbs 19:17

In conclusion, if we are to truly to become love in action we must first start loving people unconditionally. We can't judge people because of their social status and feel justified for not showing mercy because somehow they did not climb out of the hole by themselves. That was the attitude the Pharisees had in the bible. They failed to be good Samaritans because they walked around the problem instead dealt with the issues at hand. If you are to be a true follower of Christ you will not mind getting in the trenches with the poor, homeless, sick, prisoner and forgotten. This is what Jesus did when He came to rescue you. First, we must start by providing for our own household then the household of faith. Pray and ask God what you can do to become the answer to someone else's problem then Be The Church!

Part two: Why God Is Not A Democrat!
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