Many Christians and Christian leaders have been neutralized by the love of money and materialism. The homage paid to affluence becomes a burden that saps our energy as well as our love for God and other people...Like Jesus and Paul, we can learn to be content with what we have, living modestly in order that we may give liberally to the work of the kingdom and to meet the needs of others.
Interpretation
This quote highlights how materialism can distract individuals from their spiritual and moral obligations.
John Wimber emphasizes the perils of materialism and the love of money, suggesting that such attachments can drain one's energy and affection for God and others. He advocates for a life of modesty and contentment, drawing inspiration from the teachings of Jesus and Paul, arguing that by focusing on spiritual and communal needs rather than personal affluence, individuals can contribute more meaningfully to the greater good.
In practice
In a sermon about living a modest life, this quote can serve to inspire parishioners to assess their values.
Our passion is to imitate the ministry of Jesus in the power of the Spirit. This requires we must follow Jesus out of baptismal waters, through our personal deserts, and into the harvest. We want to take the ammunition of the balanced evangelical theology with the fire power of Pentecostal practice, loading & readying the best of both worlds to hit the target of making & nurturing disciples.
Instead of focusing on the great men of God, I prefer to focus on the Great God of men.
It seems the more I think about not sinning, the more I sin, but the more I think about just loving Jesus, the less I seem to sin. Falling in love seems to be the key.
We learned that what happens when we are alone with the Lord determines how intimate and deep the worship will be when we come together.
We have believed - and we do believe now - that freedom is indivisible, that peace is indivisible, that economic prosperity is indivisible
Boredom is always counter-revolutionary. Always.
There is a lovely root to the word humiliation - from the latin word humus, meaning soil or ground. When we are humiliated, we are in effect returning to the ground of our being.
Daily the Negro is coming more and more to look upon law and justice, not as protecting safeguards, but as sources of humiliation and oppression. The laws are made by men who have little interest in him; they are executed by men who have absolutely no motive for treating the black people with courtesy or consideration; and, finally, the accused law-breaker is tried, not by his peers, but too often by men who would rather punish ten innocent Negroes than let one guilty one escape.
And if there's a moral there, I don't know what it is, save maybe that we should take our goodbyes whenever we can.
Every one in a crowd has the power to throw dirt; none out of ten have the inclination.
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