Are Pastors Supposed to be Poor?

Elisha and the Widow’s Oil 2 Kings 4:1-7

A certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha, saying, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared the Lord. And the creditor is coming to take my two sons to be his slaves.”

² So Elisha said to her, “What shall I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in the house?” And she said, “Your maidservant has nothing in the house but a jar of oil.”

³ Then he said, “Go, borrow vessels from everywhere, from all your neighbors—empty vessels; do not gather just a few. ⁴ And when you have come in, you shall shut the door behind you and your sons; then pour it into all those vessels, and set aside the full ones.”

⁵ So she went from him and shut the door behind her and her sons, who brought the vessels to her; and she poured it out. ⁶ Now it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said to her son, “Bring me another vessel.”

And he said to her, “There is not another vessel.” So the oil ceased. ⁷ Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debt; and you and your sons live on the rest.”

Many Servants of God are living with poverty despite their faithfulness and commitment to the Call of God in their lives. Why? Ignorance of course. I read in the Bible, Hosea 4:6 “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.” Any Servant of God who is ignorant of the Word is on suspension unknowingly!

If the Servant of God is the under-shepherd, then it is wrong for him if the sheep is richer than him! It is the primary responsibility of the shepherd to feed the sheep. Some pastors could not preach the total gospel because of some individuals in the congregation whom they see as their provider! If your eyes are on the congregation for your survival, you must go back to your Caller for a brief.   

In the text above, it is the story of a dedicated prophet who did not live the Will for his widow but bills to be paid and when she failed to pay the bills, the creditor wanted to seize his two boys in exchange when she ran to a better and well informed prophet (Elisha) who gave her the solution for the debt cancellation. So, it is a matter choice, either to be a rich pastor or a poor pastor! You have to choose blessings or cursing, it is not the responsibility of God to choose for you. I urge you to choose blessings (Deuteronomy 30:19).

We are in recession or meltdown now, it is the knowledge of the Word of God that will determine whether you are going to be a victim or victor of the siege. Unless you know how God prosper His people in recession and apply it, you will suffer what others suffer in economic recession, yet you are His Servant (Prov 11:9).

My dear Pastor, God is not against your riches. In fact your prosperity gladdens His heart. “Let them shout for joy, and be glad, that favour my righteous cause: yea, let them say continually, Let the Lord be magnified, which hath pleasure in the prosperity of his servant” (Psalm 35:27).

It is easier for a rich pastor to make impact in the work of the ministry than the poor! Imagine the challenges you are facing in the mission and evangelism of your local church. You have the Word but you cannot reach far beyond the people you are leading. Why? There is no financial power for you to buy air time on either the radio or television.

Go and study the scripture very well, all round prosperity is the Will of God for His own (3 John2-4). Jesus was made poor for us to be rich. Are you among those who are promoting poverty through their strong opposition against prosperity? That is ignorance. I used to be among that archaic school of thought before God expelled me from that place.

I am not saying those who are turning their blind eye to the sin around them in the name of prosperity are right but I will never endorse those who want the church of God who has all things to remain poor. If those who are serving the devil are rich and wealthy, are we saying our God could not do better?

It is what you are believing God for that He does in your life, family and congregation. If you say He is able to supply all your needs according to His riches in glory, that is exactly what He will do and if you say it is according to your wages and salaries, that is what you will experience. My few days as a Christian have made me to understand that not fewer than 98% of Jesus’ miracles were based on the faith of the beneficiaries. I challenge you to get a copy of my book BIBLICAL PROSPERITY AND HOW TO OBTAIN IT to know more. Go to any nearby bookshop and get books on the topic, read them and grow up. 

Pastor Bayo Oladeji

adebayooladeji350@yahoo.com