From a reader here:
Your post regarding the COG minister's demanding of money
reminded me of this from the
Jan-Feb
Living Church News article written by Rod the Charlottain:
"Brethren, I want to strongly encourage all of
you to genuinely go “all out”
in backing the very Work
Christ is doing through us
on this earth today!
I know that most of you are doing this. But many do “let down”—especially after the Feast when the income for God’s Work often drops for a
number of weeks. But above and beyond that,
I not long ago received
a letter from one of our fine ministers who has in recent times had the experience of several older people dying in his congregational
areas.
It's guilt trip time. Sure some may be slacking in tithing,
but many are struggling to make ends meet. When they read stuff like this
it is an automatic guilt trip laid upon them. What they are telling the
members is this: “It's YOUR fault that the income is down. “ “It is up to
YOU to change it.”
This very sincere and serving minister—not a “money grubber”—wrote me: “Of them all, two were moderately wealthy. Neither looked or acted wealthy but they were
farmers and left quite an inheritance.
One left $300,000 and a nice home, the other
left 300 acres with quite a bit of nice river frontage. At $1,500 per acre that would be $450,000.
At $2,000 per acre that would be $600,000. This is why I mention it. The one man said
strongly the one thing
he wanted to avoid was having his stepchildren, who seemed to hate him, inherit.
He left no will, so of course the stepchildren
got it all. Dr. Meredith,
I feel we are missing a special opportunity
by not bringing the possibility of leaving all or part of
their inheritance to the attention of the Church.”
If God says his blessings are showered upon the
"just" and the "unjust," why would a minister be worried
about step children receiving an inheritance? It’s none of the ministers
business whether or not someone inherits property.
Brethren, following through on this suggestion from this fine
minister, I would like to take the opportunity now to encourage many of you who are
growing older to think about giving a good part or all of your estate to the Work of the living God. Many of you, no doubt, would like
to
do this but “simply
have
not gotten around to it.” Many want to do it, as this one man said—but simply put off making out a will so that your intentions
will
be carried
out when you die. God’s word encourages responsibility and wise estate planning.
“A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children, but the wealth of the
sinner is stored up for the righteous” (Proverbs 13:11). Pray that God will give you wisdom in planning for how your assets may be helpful to your children— and to God’s Church—after
you die. And it is important that you think about this, because
if you just “do nothing”
your estate may go to people who will not appreciate what you are leaving
behind, or it may even go to the state and be part of the budget of some government treasurer to
use as he desires!
The church is just as ungrateful for estate inheritances as
the ungrateful relatives may be. In the past
estates that were given to the church were used to remodel evangelists
homes. Diamonds, jewelry and other gifts were regularly
taken by certain department heads and kept as their own or sold off and
pocketed the money themselves. Believe
it or not they actually bragged about this.
As the end of this age approaches, each one of us needs to focus on the profound statement Jesus Christ
our Savior made in the Sermon on the Mount, “Do not lay
up
for yourselves
treasures
on
earth, where moth
and
rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys
and where thieves do
not
break in and steal. For
where your treasure is, there your
heart will be also” (Matthew
6:19–21).
This is laughable coming from Rod Meredith. This is the
man who used third tithe money to remodel his million dollar home on Waverly
Drive decades ago. This is the man who had valuable works of art and treasures
of the church in his office. It is also laughable considering
how the Church of God has always been obsessed with laying up treasures.
Look at the hundreds of millions of dollars in fine art, gold, silver, crystal,
that the Church bought to furnish homes and offices with. It was and always
has been about MORE. More offices, more TV stations, more buildings, more
students, more members, more magazines, more cars, more jets, ad naseum........
If we truly have
our “hearts”
in God’s Work, we
will obviously want
to give generously! This should
not be a mystery to any of us. So
we
should each think about
how we can best do this. A wonderful example as a “hero of the faith” was Raymond Jorgensen, the Iowa farmer who willed his entire farm with the buildings
and
equipment and everything to God’s Work enabling
us to move to our new Headquarters in North Carolina! Some of you
remember
his wonderful example.
By giving that entire property—which was
valued at nearly a million
dollars—he certainly indicated to our
Father in heaven exactly where he stood! His wonderful
gift
will never be forgotten by me, nor by many of us who are profoundly thankful
that
God put this action into his mind and heart.
Again this translates for those who cannot give a lot that
it is their fault they are lacking in money. If they would only step out in
faith and write that big check then God will bless them doubly for it. In
other words, they are lacking in faith. In faith you can give your
entire estate to the church and write off any relatives.
Obviously, those of us who can help the Work in this way will certainly be honoring God and a genuine reward will be given us from the God who gives all
of us life and breath. He will never forget what you are trying to do in leaving
Him—through His Work—much or all of what you have accumulated
during this short human
life
time. You know your
own personal
family situation, and
you know
your own heart.
So, you know what is appropriate in your circumstances.
Those who give more to the church will be given more by God
later on. Maybe you will be ruler over two cities instead of one. Or,
God of two planets instead of one. God will doubly bless you for being so
generous. Apparently God is really hard up that he needs you to leave
estates to him.
Please think about
it and pray
about it—and, if you wish to do this—take action
before it is too late. Even now, I hear from time to time about brethren
who
left the Worldwide Church
of God
many years ago, but failed to update their
wills, and when they died
their families were shocked to see
bequests go to an apostate
group from which they had departed years ago.
So, if necessary, be sure to update your will. If you need help in this, or in other aspects of
planning your bequest to the Church, I urge you to contact our Legal Affairs Department at Headquarters. For contact information, please note the box at the end of this article."
[end of article quotation]
Brethren! Please make sure that the Living Church of
God is in your will and NOT an APOSTATE Church of God! Don’t give your
estate to Gerald Flurry or Dave Pack!
The reader from here continues with this:
It reminded
me of the following two items from history:
"Orthodox
Christians defended slavery as part of the divinely ordained hierarchical
order. Passages in the Bible support the institution of slavery:
Both the bondmen, and thy bondmaids, which
thou shalt have, shall be of the heathen that are round about you; of them
shall ye buy bondmen and bondmaids. Moreover of the children of the strangers
that do sojourn among you, of them shall ye buy, and of their families that are
with you, which they begat in your land: and they shall be your possession. And
ye shall take them as an inheritance for your children after you, to inherit
them for a possession; they shall be your bondmen for ever. [Leviticus
25:44-46]"
2) from the book A SHORT HISTORY OF THE INQUISITION by By Kessinger Publishing pp. 230-231:
“’After
the death of a heretic they (the inquisitors) can confiscate the property he
held, depriving his heirs of it, although his condemnation may have been prior
to his decease.’ That is, when a man was dead the Inquisition could denounce
and condemn him, attaint his children, and confiscate the property they had
inherited. ‘And though it be an incontrovertible rule in civil law that with
death ends all criminal action, that law is not held valid in causes of heresy,
it being so serious a crime; and thus proceeding may be carried on against
heretics after they are dead, declaring them as such, to confiscate their
property (ad finem confiscandi), and taking it from its owners although it may
have passed through many hands, applying it for the benefit of the Holy
Office.’ Did any system ever furnish such facility for the work of sacerdotal
(priestly) thieves?”
