That ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, that ye may have lack of nothing.     1 Thessalonians 4: 12

Someone might ask, “What does the scripture mean by ‘… ye may have lack of nothing?’ I have been working all my life and I still need things.” I’ll explain. Work creates order and order creates prudence. 

For instance, there are things I know I don’t need. It’s not that I don’t desire them but I know I don’t need them. They may be way beyond what my resources can get me at the time so I stick to what I can afford. In that regard, I lack nothing because my basic needs are met.

I have observed that even if someone is a lowly gateman but is diligent on the job, they will experience an increase. In fact, not only will the person increase, but the job will set boundaries in their life and train them to live within their means. It is work that creates that kind of order in people.

Some months after my wife and I gave away our two cars, someone dear to us walked up to me and said, “Pastor, you need a car.” I replied, “I know.” I suspected he was likely thinking of getting us a car. Then he asked what kind of car I wanted and I mentioned a particular model. 

He responded, “Oh, be serious Pastor.” I told him, “A car is not my problem at this time. If I wanted one, I’d get it but I have to channel the resources I have now to some other projects. As long as I can get  where I want to go, that’s okay.”

Someone might think I was dumb to have responded that way. But we did have projects we were channelling resources to and a family car wasn’t a priority at that point. What if I told the man to bring the car, then later realized that maintaining it was more than our resources could carry? 

Maybe, six months down the line, the car develops a fault and we are unable to afford the repairs then, shortly after, it  packs up because we can’t maintain it? The car is gone because we shouldn’t have had it in the first place.

What most people who come begging you for money need is not money. I don’t care whether they are relations, cousins, friends, or colleagues. What they need is direction and wisdom. Unfortunately, most of the time, that is exactly what they don’t want. The Bible says that if your brother who hasn’t eaten comes to you, you shouldn’t just pray with him and send him away. It says you should give him bread. 

This demonstrates genuine and godly concern. Offer as much help as you can without being judgmental. However, you must also tell him, “Son, Bro, or Sir, why don’t you find something productive to do?” Let them know that there’s no prayer greater than working. If the person is not willing to receive counsel, you have a right to stop helping them.

You must realize that if you keep funding foolishness, God who gives you the funds will begin to withhold it from you because He doesn’t encourage foolishness. 

God told me that some time ago. He told me that if I kept funding foolishness, he would withdraw resources from me.

A lady came to see me many years ago and told me about her problems. She said she needed some money to start a business and I gave her without hesitation. 

The very next day, I noticed she had fixed her hair and then, about five days later, she started the business. Do you see why she was stranded? Her priorities were wrong. Later on, she had an accommodation problem and came to see me again. She must have thought I was a foolish pastor who didn’t know what to do with money.

When she came the second time, I asked how much she had saved and she said ten thousand naira. I replied, “Since you need XYZ to make it up, why don’t you hang on a little longer? Your business should give you the money to get an accommodation.” After that, she walked away and I’ve not seen her since.

When I started out in ministry, I was praying for all kinds of things. One day, God told me to shut up, that all I needed was goodwill. So, I shut up and thanked him for his goodwill. Shortly after that, some people started to partner with the ministry and we received all the things we needed. 

You don’t need money for a lot of things. What you need is direction. If some people received ten million naira today, by next week all the money would be gone because they would buy a jeep and rent a big house without thinking about the costs of fuelling the car or electricity. 

What would be uppermost on their mind would be to show people that they have “arrived.” That is why they shouldn’t have had the ten million naira in the first place. There are some people that even if you gave them ten billion naira, they would know exactly what to channel it into. That is because they already have their priorities set and are moving in a definite direction.

When you pray to God in faith, He immediately answers your prayer though the manifestation may take longer. Oftentimes, the reason for the delay is that you need to grow to a place where you can accommodate His blessings. 

God told the children of Israel that they would take Canaan, the Promised Land, in bits so that the wild animals would not overrun them. This is because their population was small compared to the size of the land.

Someone might say, “Okay, God, just show me the particular job I should do.” Well, God has already instructed that “Whatsoever thy hands findeth to do, do it with thy might (Ecclesiastes 9:10).” 

What you need is to find something to do. Many times, I have jokingly said that if the ministry is unable to take care of my needs, I’d go to a hospital and apply to wash dead bodies. At least, that would fetch me some money while I decide my next move. If that doesn’t pan out, I’ll pick up my driver’s license and look for someone to drive.

The point is that you must strive to do something no matter the situation. It’s better to fail at something than sit at home all day telling tall tales.