BY HUMPHREY MTANDWA
The parable of the beggar and the rich man paints a strange picture of the world and the church. The rich man had an advantage on earth and it seems, when they crossed the veil through death, the rich man began to beg and ask for resources from the beggar who now had access to them. The Bible describes that there was a great divide between the rich man and Lazarus. Most biblical examples are shadows of physical truths. So that same truth could be a picture of the of a divide that was carried from the physical world to the spiritual one.
The early church forsook all earthly comforts in pursuit of a heavenly hope; believing that there would be a better life in the here-after. In the past the church accepted a life of poverty with the hope’s of a better life in Heaven. Such a mindset pushed the church into a place of comfort where it settled for poverty with hopes of a better life. I do not believe the church is called to live as beggars. The church is not supposed to live as beggars in life and with the right teachings the church can be masters on both lives on earth and in Heaven. Your success as a believer is a choice
The children of the kingdom are like beggars, while servants ride upon horses. This is a sad truth, but in some way it’s a reality when you look at how those who have not believed in Christ seem to be in a better position regards to material things.
The church is anointed, but lack of practical insight into the affairs of this present life is what makes unbelievers have the advantages of this life. The church has mastered what is needed to have success in the after life and the principles required. But it also needs to acquire the principles required in this life. In one of my books titled: Egyptians Economy I wrote about how Joseph had to become an Egyptian for him to have influence within Egypt. Even his brothers could not recognise him and took him for an Egyptian. For the church to become effective in the world, like Joseph, they have to “become like Egyptians”.
When Joseph’s brothers stood before him after their arrival in Egypt, they could no longer recognise him because he had not only adopted the language of Egypt, but he also began to look like an Egyptian. For Joseph to have influence and rule within the land of Egypt, he went through intensive training. This allowed him to absorb the cultural practices of the Egyptians. Although he looked and acted like an Egyptian, he maintained his faith in God, and this is primarily evident in the names he gave his children.
Genesis 41:51 reads: And Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh: For God, said he, hath made me forget all my toil, and all my father’s house. [KJV].
The great divide only exists if we as the church don’t follow the steps of Joseph. We know in the world to come there would be a divide, but we should refuse that the divide exists in this present world. We are called to have influence on all planes of life and not to have it only in Heaven. The solution is to become “Egyptians” and understand the principles used by those in the world to have an advantage.
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God bless you.
- Humphrey Mtandwa is an anointed minister of the gospel and teacher of the Word based in South Africa. He has written several books including The Enoch Generation, Truthfulness and Theophany. He blogs at mtandwa.blogspot.com and can be contacted via e-mail or WhatsApp on +27 610286350.
