It is to be with him, and he is to read it all the days of his life so that he may learn to revere Yahuwah his Elohim and follow carefully all the words of this law and these decrees and not consider himself better than his fellow Israelites and turn from the law to the right or to the left. Then he and his descendants will reign a long time over his kingdom in Israel. Deuteronomy 17:19-20
This is the basic law that judges the churches. When communities recognized by the state and therefore financially supported receive church status, or already have it, they receive the support of an external and foreign government on which they become increasingly dependent. This material dependence automatically leads to spiritual dependence, which causes confusion and leads to progressive degradation. From then on, the outside power gradually begins to put pressure on the deceived herds in order to make them accept foreign rules and other laws.
It should be emphasized that
there is only one legitimate Church: the Body of Christ
within which there are communities and groups. This Body is composed of cells which must divide ad infinitum. It has members, but those members also all belong to Christ. They cannot in any case be subjected to a system of external subsidies such as nation states, governments or any other organization which are by definition and to varying degrees also under the power of Satan.
What spiritual content would the ministry of Jesus have had if he had sought the favors of the power in place at his time instead of placing all his confidence and his person in the hands of Elohim alone? It would have been unimaginable that Jesus would have sent his disciples to Herod or Pilate to beg for a little money to support and build his ministry.
Rather, Jesus sent his disciples to fetch the missing denarius from the mouth of a fish that YHWH providentially sent them. Nor did he go out to beg bread and fish for the hungry crowd, but waited patiently for the time when the miracle of food multiplication was to occur.
Acceptance of people
Moreover, in the area of discriminating against people, Jesus repeats this law in other words and later confirms it through the apostle James:
Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in filthy old clothes also comes in. If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Here’s a good seat for you,” but say to the poor man, “You stand there” or “Sit on the floor by my feet,” have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? James 2:2-4
It often seems in assemblies that the most prosperous, wealthy, and financially blessed brothers and sisters often receive special treatment. They are referred to more often, they sit in the front rows and are invited on stage more frequently to give testimonies. All of this is often done before the eyes and ears of those struggling for their daily survival in such a way that they are visibly in no greater disobedience or sin than these.
For many people, it can certainly be much more interesting to hear the testimony of a believing businessman who has been blessed in an extraordinary way having increased his income tenfold compared to the previous period, than to listen to the gypsy brother living in his ghetto and who was able to buy twice his weekly ration of bread. May the latter also be a great blessing and a strong testimony.
What image of Yahuwah and of Christ can well form in the minds of brethren in more modest circumstances or living in much more disadvantaged circumstances, when they see how others are succeeding and prospering while they continue to to be in need.
What a deceptive path they lead people who, because of their spiritual youth, do not understand that there is something wrong behind all this. And how many are those who leave the narrow path with guilt and sadness, saying to themselves: “if I am so poor/sick/helpless, then surely ‘God’ does not love me and does not consider me worthy of him “.
It is not a sin to be rich and YHWH allows many people to earn more money. But emphasizing it, forcing the subject and bringing it to the fore in a childish and blind way can do great damage within the Church. The poorest can flee with a sad heart until they return to the world, or even go as far as suicide as the feeling of guilt and injustice gnaws at them. The rich, on the other hand, are deceived, kept in ignorance and are thus in grave danger. For when the time of persecution and tribulation comes, they will not understand what is happening and in their unpreparedness for the difficult events to come, many will not hold out and will go so far as to take the mark of the beast when the will be offered to them in order to preserve their material idols.
Therefore it would be good to remember that
in the days of the early church no one had a surplus and they had everything in common
In other words, the financial capital of the communities should be managed as it was then. Everyone makes the same effort at work, but not everyone earns the same amount. So those with lower incomes should not suffer deprivation in the Body of Christ. Elohim looks at the quantity and quality of the work done and has no intention of giving more to the engineer than to the one who cleans the latter’s office. It is the world that favors more educated people who by definition have worked less because they had to study. Studies, moreover, are often financed by the taxpayer, therefore by those who, in addition, work and have thus not had the opportunity to study on their own. Elohim, on the other hand, looks at the time and energy invested in the work. Thus the money we receive from the unjust world must be fairly redistributed in the Kingdom of Elohim, therefore in the local churches which are its embassies here on earth. Naturally, it is not a question of maintaining laziness and laziness either. If someone does not want to work, he does not eat either, and such a person has no place in the Church.
The fulfillment of this commandment takes place when the pattern of the original, primitive church is restored. This is what we all need to work on.
See also: The Acts of the Disciples (How the early church looks like), Defence of the poor