2 Corinthians 13:11 – [11]Finally, brethren, rejoice, be made complete, be comforted, be like-minded, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.
Romans 12:16 – [16] Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation.
The Bible says that we should be ‘like-minded’. How can you be ‘like-minded’ with those who almost have nothing when you waste money on yourself? How can you be ‘like-minded’ and drive a N100 million car in the midst of people who are looking for transport fare to board a tricycle to attend Church meetings? If you are ‘like-minded’, you would take that N100 million, buy 20 cars (at N5 Million each), and give the cars to 20 families. You can have one of the cars and give the rest to 19 families. Can’t you get nice second hand cars that will last for many years? You can.
If you are truly truly ‘like-minded’, then you must be sympathetic. To be sympathetic means to have sympathy. How can you not have sympathy when you know that people are going through struggles? You see them and then you just drive away. How can a sympathetic person slouchily make plans to just buy a land every time they have some money come in? These are the things that people do normally, constantly saying that they are trying to keep an inheritance for their children. They had better know the world where they want to keep an inheritance.
Philippians 2:1-4 says, [1] Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort from his love? Any fellowship together in the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and compassionate? [2] Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose. [3] Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. [4] Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.
Christians are to love one another, be compassionate and humble. How can a Christian know of this list in Philippians 2 and still be stingy and live for himself everyday?
“Oh yes, I just got some money, so I decided to get a car for my second son. He is in his 3rd year in the university…”
You already have three cars for yourself, one for madam (your wife), of course, and 2 for ‘the house‘. Since your first son has been driving one car, and your first daughter drives the second one, you bought one more for your second son. Your 7th car. Why?
And then you say that you are sympathetic and love one another? You are humble and of the same mind? No, you are not!
We are like-minded when our minds are alike. What does it mean if our minds are alike? If I am of the mind that cups should contain wine and not water, we are like-minded if you agree with me.
If I say that I only drink water with golden cups, will you agree with me? Cups of pure gold, no less. People [even I] will say, “So why must it be gold? The water doesn’t enter your mouth if it’s not coming from a gold cup? Why do you need that?”
You want to be like-minded with your brethren? Ask them. Get their opinions. Ask your brother or sister in church, “So what do you people all think about, you know, my getting a seventh car?” Ask about it in a men’s meeting. If they say, “Oh yes. My brother, you deserve it. You have been driving this other Jeep for a long time…,” then you can say that you are all ‘like-minded’. But you are not like-minded if you don’t care to ask them. The truth is, you don’t care to be like minded.
Now, that doesn’t mean that you have to go around asking everybody about everything. But you must have people in your life who you can talk to and who will give you counsel whenever you want to make decisions. Then you can say, “I was thinking of… You know, I have this property I want to acquire, though I have bought two already, and I have about three buildings. But I am thinking of getting another one because I got some money from the last deal I got...”
Now remember, if you are getting it so that you can use it as an investment so you can support the kingdom of God more, then that’s different. It’s different from just having a mindset that says “acquire something”, every time you have some money. There are a lot of houses that have been built but have no inhabitants. The landlords are gone, and no one lives in them. I once had a colleague who stayed in a house, and the landlord told him that he did not have to pay rent because nobody could live in that house. It was a haunted house. So it’s not about acquiring houses and lands. Just make sure you won’t contribute to the number of abandoned buildings in Nigeria. Sometimes I see buildings, and I wonder how much they cost. But then, I notice that they’re abandoned, and are rotting. Animals now inhabit the buildings — animals, mad people and homeless people stay in it. Places where people were not allowed to stay in formerly are now inhabited by lizards and snakes, and used as a place to defecate. The owners wouldn’t let people in there to sleep for free back in the days when the house was inhabited. But a time came when the buildings housed lizards.
Do we still live [and die] for the things in this age?
If you have wealth, use it to bring blessings to many. Like David, use it to extend God’s kingdom, and build the purposes of God on earth.
In I Chronicles 29:2-3 David said, “With all my resources I have provided for the temple of my God — gold for the gold work, silver for the silver, bronze for the bronze, iron for the iron and wood for the wood, as well as onyx for the settings, turquoise, stones of various colors, and all kinds of fine stone and marble — all of these in large quantities. *Besides, in my devotion to the temple of my God I now give my personal treasures of gold and silver for the temple of my God, over and above everything I have provided for this holy temple“…
The people are God’s temple now, not a physical building. I Corinthians 3:16 — [16]Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? (also in I Corinthians 6:19).
This is how you will be deemed faithful. And if you are faithful with the resources you have been given, you will be rewarded with more ability.
Matthew 25:23 — [23] His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’
Luke 16:10-12 — [10] He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much. [11] Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? [12] And if you have not been faithful in what is another man’s, who will give you what is your own?
I Corinthians 4:2 — [2] Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful.
The unfaithful will lose what they have to the faithful.
Luke 19:23-25 — _[23]Why then did you not put my money in the bank, that at my coming I might have collected it with interest?’ [24] “And he [the master] said to those who stood by, ‘Take the mina from him, and give it to him who has ten minas.’
You must become compassionate, humble, and sympathetic. You must not live for comfort but to bring comfort to others and to enjoy the comfort that you have the privilege of having.
II Corinthians 1:3-4 — [3] Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, [4] who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.
— Pastor Ita Udoh
10th June, 2020
