See letter 1907/12/14)

To S. F.:

After going through my article in Missionæren from Nov. 2824 “with a fine-tooth comb,” you have asked me to propose a more appealing and honorable source of revenue than bazaars and such things to raise money for God’s cause. It would be a great pleasure for me to take on this challenge—to the extent that I have light and ability to do so. But I do not intend in any way, either with this article or the previous one, to please people; for we are not debtors to the flesh—neither theirs nor ours. However, by the grace that is in Christ, we have become servants of the Spirit; and since this ministry is glorious (2 Cor. 3:8), then we can take it on with all the more zeal and joy.

But now to the point: I see that you are quite surprised that I am totally against the idea of charity bazaars. I am now sitting and looking at a program for a religious charity event, and here is a little taste of what they have come up with:

“Our women’s association works diligently.
To their good reputation they’re true.
Though all else stops up, they persist earnestly
With momentum that carries them through.
:/: We need them! Their work really pays! :/:
When we hold our bazaar in the autumn you’ll see,
All the money they’re able to raise.”

There is nothing wrong with initiating big bazaars, large social events, and many other great things, but who gets the credit? Read the verse above one more time, and see if you can get the point. The thought that comes readily to mind regarding all this is what Jesus says: “They have already received their reward.” The people get the glory, and God is left with the spare change. They can throw a few coins to the poor man, but things like honor they keep for themselves.

For that matter, God doesn’t get much of the spare change either; for if I have seen correctly, these people build for themselves great splendid houses where they can have a cozy, comfortable, and pleasant life, humanly speaking. That is just what all kinds of worldly associations do, so if anyone thinks that this is what it means to build the kingdom of God, then I would advise them to pray about it so that such wild thoughts are taken captive to the obedience of Christ. Then they would perhaps arrive at very different conclusions. I’m afraid that most of the proceeds go to provide comfort for the flesh. So what, you might ask, is left for God’s cause?

God’s cause, in spirit and truth, does not cost that much. We could certainly say that Paul did a bit for God’s cause; he disciplined his body and kept it in subjection, lest he, who preached to others, should himself be disqualified. It doesn’t seem like he needed much to make do. He had to keep his body in subjection so as not to be disqualified. We can thereby assume—using basic common sense—that those preachers who spend thousands of kroner per year on physical comforts are already disqualified.

As far as human comforts and pleasures go, it doesn’t seem like large sums of money were used for that. Paul was in perils of water, of robbers, of his own countrymen, of the Gentiles, in the city, in the wilderness, in the sea, among false brethren, in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. 2 Cor. 11:26-27.

I hardly think these things required a lot of money. However, I believe that all these perils were very necessary for a servant of the Lord to be able to receive and keep—without becoming puffed up—as much knowledge of God as Paul had received. Personally I must conclude that money is something God must keep as far away from us as possible; for the flesh will gladly put its trust in goods and settle down for many years, and eat, drink, and be merry, and build larger barns. James says in Ch. 5:1, “Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you!” And in verse 5: “You have lived on the earth in pleasure and luxury; you have fattened your hearts as in a day of slaughter.” We can learn from this that the more wealthy a person is, the more they are inclined to pamper themselves; but the more they pamper themselves, the more incapable they are in the work of the kingdom of God. This applies to the individual, but since large associations consist of individuals, the same rule applies there.

Matt. 10:7: “And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’” And from verse 9, “Provide neither gold nor silver nor copper in your moneybelts, nor bag for your journey, nor two tunics, nor sandals, nor staffs; for a worker is worthy of his food.”

All of these items seem to me to be inexpensive, directed by the Savior Himself.

Why then has God arranged it in this way, that it costs almost nothing to finance God’s cause? Well, it is for this very reason:

1 Cor. 4:11-13. “To the present hour we both hunger and thirst, and we are poorly clothed, and beaten, and homeless . . . being defamed, we entreat. We have been made as the filth of the world, the offscouring of all things until now.” In such circumstances, Paul preached without charge. 1 Cor. 9:12.

1 Cor. 9:13. “Do you not know that those who minister the holy things eat of the things of the temple, and those who serve at the altar partake of the offerings of the altar?”

From this we see that those who serve in the sanctuary shall eat of the holy things. But are you able to say that your sources of income are that holy? Perhaps those who eat of those things consume that which is unholy now and then?

We see in 2 Cor. 11:12-13 that there were false apostles and deceitful workers who transformed themselves into apostles of Christ. The apostle says about these people that he would continue to preach the gospel to the Corinthians free of charge, and that they (the false apostles) should imitate him also in this. Here he really hit the nail on the head, because it was precisely for the sake of worldly gain that they preached. It’s expensive to support such fellows, and, in truth, it’s no wonder they get angry when you try to put an end to their sources of income, because it costs a lot of money to maintain such an army.

There again such people have always been in the majority; read 1 Kings 22, from verse 5. Here, Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, and Ahab, the king of Israel, had gathered to themselves no less than 400 prophets, all of whom prophesied lies. One of them, the son of Chenaanah, even made horns of iron for himself and said: “Thus says the Lord: ‘With these you shall gore the Syrians until they are destroyed.’” And all the prophets prophesied so, saying, “Go up to Ramoth Gilead and prosper, for the Lord will deliver it into the king’s hand.” All of these 400 prophets were Ahab’s prophets, and Ahab was a very wicked man. Here unbelief manifested itself; he had to have many prophets since he didn’t dare to trust in an individual. It must have required a lot to support these 400 prophets because they certainly would not be content with the bread and water of affliction either.

Jehoshaphat, a very godly man, immediately noticed that it wouldn’t be a good idea to put his trust in these 400 prophets, so he also asked in 1 Kings 22:7 if there wasn’t still a prophet of the Lord who could inquire of the Lord. Yes, it turned out that there was one: Micaiah, the son of Imiah. He also prophesied, but he told the truth. This led to Ahab putting him in prison to be fed with the bread and water of affliction, until he came back in peace.

I can’t draw any other conclusion from all this than that God’s cause, past and present, does not require such great monetary offerings; what it does require is solid, reliable women and men who do not regard godliness as a means of gain, but who rather are willing—if need be—to suffer for Christ’s sake.

Money for God’s cause can only be given by godly people who have the faith of Christ; and those who minister in the sanctuary shall eat of the holy thing. For it is written to these people of God: “God loves a cheerful giver.”

I have nothing more to add. For those who think that what I have written is not sufficiently based on Scripture, my hope was to avoid having to transcribe large portions of the Bible, which everyone can read for themselves. If anyone thinks these words are too strong, then they should know that it is not the words that are to be tested, but the power; for the kingdom of heaven doesn’t consist in words, but in power.

In closing, my dear S. F., a heartfelt greeting with John 12:24.