Devil In Your Pocket

Devil in your pocket

 Fifty years ago, a show called “Romper Room” was on the old black and white TV. The young teacher, who has probably passed on, taught the little kindergarteners to use their heads!  She would say, “Class, let’s put our thinking caps on”.  All the little kids would plop a make believe hat on their tiny little heads. And then, the teacher would give a lesson to these little angels who sat at their desks.  This silly practice is very good for adults. Unfortunately, as adults we remove the thinking cap headgear, and allow all sorts of stupid stuff to enter into our craniums, molesting our good common sense!  Without the proper protection, our thinking is bombarded with all kinds of warped ideas. Innocently, we accept and take part of questionable activities, all in the name of religion! Too often we feel there is no right or wrong in religion. WRRRRONG! Too many people sit in church or watch evangelists on TV, and just “amen” everything that comes out of the mortal’s mouth, without thinking or investigating the spirit, to see if it is of God. Okay Barb, stop beating around the bush; why are you writing this blog? A couple of years ago, Dateline, and trust me, I don’t believe everything that I see on unreality TV, but Dateline had a special segment about a big time evangelist, gone healer, Benny Hinn. His followers marvel at his healings. His enemies deny miracles even exist.  Hinn was raking in the big bucks and still is!   Christian theologians write volumes of books that are either for or against modern day healings. At one time, I would whip out my Bible and begin reading from 1 Corinthians 13, in defense miracles have ceased.  Years later, after I had time to digest and analyze scripture…religion is supernatural…and I needed to put my thinking cap on. Why should I, being a mere mortal, put my God into a religious box, tying His hands? How could I say, there are no miracles? Do I know the mind of God? Do I fully understand the works of God? Am I more knowledgeable than God? Do I know what God can and can not do? Do I know God’s will?  

Today, I would never deny miracles. Truthfully, I don’t know. I have had several situations in my lifetime, with merciful interventions that I could classify as ”miracles”.  Can I prove it? No. But the odds were certainly against me.

Christianity has roots in the supernatural. Yes, I used the word supernatural. Scary term, huh? Think about this; even the disciples were scared when Jesus came back from the dead. They thought they saw a ghost. Job saw a spirit and he stated the hairs on his flesh stood up; goose bumps. But, for some reason, and yes, I am on a tangent; people get all upset when you connect spirituality with the supernatural. The word has a stigma to it.  Didn’t an angel appear to Mary, telling her the good news about Jesus before she was pregnant? Didn’t Joseph have a dream to flee and save his family? Are these normal occurrences, happening in ordinary life? No, they are supernatural. Supernatural means out of the realm of natural law.  

Getting back to the main thought, what upset me is this; churches with huge bank accounts and ministers who live like rock stars.  If one could heal like Jesus, why don’t they visit hospitals and pray for the sick?  Why don’t they pray for those who are being operated on? How about visiting the elderly and disabled in nursing homes?  How simple would it be to pray for those in doctors’ waiting rooms?  But, these folks don’t  have the money!

  A healer’s response to these suggestions would be to quote scripture, defending their greed. The scripture they would use is; they should not tempt God. Sounds logical at first, but it is a smokescreen, a religious parachute avoiding the issue. If God is using them to perform healings, and they are God’s vessel to be used to do healings, then, how could they be tempting God? They would be doing his will!   Why do healers hold mass conferences bringing in thousands of the praying and paying public? Did Jesus hold big rallies? Did He tell the disciples to go out and sell tickets to His show?  No, Jesus worked differently. He went to the people or the people sought Him out. There is a difference. The only time Jesus passed out a basket, is when it was full of food for His followers. Jesus gave and did not take. Not one penny did He pocket.  Jesus didn’t have ushers and armed guards like they have out in Vegas, to count out all the money He collected! If He did, He would gladly give an accounting on how the money was used.  There would be no secrets! Yet, Hinn gave no comment. Hinn doesn’t need to give an accounting, because of a legal loop-hole, called church! Coincidence? I think not!   But Barb, Hinn is doing such a good work. I support his ministry and they use my money evangelizing the world to know Jesus! Therefore, I am part of this good work, spreading the gospel. He deserves his fair share. Yes, they are telling people about Jesus but they are also fleecing the sheep for their own benefits and profits. You must look at the whole picture. Is this really what God wants? Does a right make a wrong, right?  If that’s the case, go rob a bank and give half to the church, salving your guilty conscience, rationalizing it was for a good cause!   One minister defended Hinn, saying she applauded the fact that the healer had an expensive car, lived in a mansion and could stay in a five-star hotel when he was on the road.  Shocked by her line of reasoning, I thought, Jesus was born in a manger and was glad to ride a donkey. None of the apostles had money. If they did, it went to those less fortunate.  Just because you preach the gospel, does not mean you shouldn’t sacrifice! What is wrong with this picture?  Barb, are you saying that Benny Hinn (or any one like him) is getting too much? Doesn’t he deserve his pay? Tell me Barb, how much is too much? Isn’t that a matter of opinion?  No, a preacher’s pay is never based on opinion. “Too much” is when you are living better than the majority of the people you are preaching too! Actually, a spiritual-minded individual would know when too much, is too much. If you don’t know what “too much” is, you don’t need to be preaching because the devil has got you already.  

If you are walking around with tailored made suits and the widow is putting her last penny into the collection plate…there is a problem with need, versus greed! Preachers should be in it for the glory of God, not the glory of gold! Again, there is a huge difference! Watch out for that Devil in your pocket! He maybe filling your pocket but he is emptying your soul!

This article is not against wealthy Christians. It is against healers or preachers who GAIN THEIR WEALTH THROUGH PREACHING OR HEALING, SUPPOSEDLY FOR GOD. THIS GIVES CHRISTIANITY A BAD NAME! HEALERS AND PREACHERS YOU NEED TO SEARCH YOUR HEARTS. I CAN’T DO IT FOR YOU. 

For the rest of us, all I ask is this, test the spirits and see if they are from God. If you don’t know, support your local church. God wants you to be savvy with your giving.  Are you giving to the right causes? If you are giving because someone is telling you that you will get back a hundredfold of what you gave, then you aren’t giving for the right reason.  You are giving to receive! WE SHOULD GIVE FROM OUR HEARTS, OUT OF GRATITUDE, EXPECTING NOTHING!!! We owe God!

If the local congregation is not reaching out in mission work or they are not involved in helping the community, ask why. Your money will do more good locally, than putting gas in Hinn’s private jet, flying off to the Ritz!

This blog is not written only for Hinn. It is for any preacher, teacher, priest, healer, rabbi, or minister who is in it for material benefit! May they look back to the roots of their first love…God.   Barbara Case Speers