Making money from passion

Reality is... Money has to be made in this life. People say “Yah, be free, do what you wanna. Make money from what you love.”

I’ve noticed that that narrative is usually held by young people that are not married. It's very rare to hear a person over 40 say that. When that third baby pops out, things seem to change. Prayers become less spiritual. Dreams come under pressure.

The exceptions are people like Steve Jobs.

“You’ve got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do.” – Steve Jobs

What a romantic quote. It’s amazing.

But people like Steve Jobs, Walt Disney, Steven Spielberg are all exceptions. 3000 people with the same giftings as them could take the exact steps they took and would come up with very different results. There were many designers, cartoonists and directors that had to keep their calling as a non-income generating passion project alongside their business or job.

A lot of people already know this. Some learn it by observation, some learn it by experience. There’s no one size fits all. You just play the hand you’re dealt.

The other reality is... if you don't do what you were born/called/destined to do, you will slowly decompose and if everyone didn't (being too money minded), society would be devoid of life.

That same unpredictability is in the Bible. Peter and maybe John used to wake up, use their spiritual gifts, probably attend councils then maybe just chill and pray because they received tithes and offerings, while Paul and Barnabas would wake up, use their spiritual gifts then get back to work.

Acts 10:9-10 The next day at about the sixth hour, as the men were approaching the city on their journey, Peter went up on the roof to pray. He became hungry and wanted something to eat, but while the meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance.

1 Corinthians 9:4-6 Do we have no right to eat and drink? Do we have no right to take along a believing wife, as do also the other apostles, the brothers of the Lord, and Cephas? Or is it only Barnabas and I [Paul] who have no right to refrain from working?

Paul directly links having money or resources to having a wife. He knew that if him or Barnabas were to get wives and kids, they’d need a serious increase in their income. He even says "eat and drink" meaning some days or weeks, they'd have unintentional fasts.

1 Corinthians 7:7 But each one has his own gift from God, one in this manner and another in that.

Some people just have a tougher road than others.

So I think when people say “Do what you love”, either they’re part of the Steve Jobs and Peter category i.e. they’re blessed enough to support their kids off their passion or they’re part of the Paul and Barnabas category i.e. they don’t plan on getting married and having kids any time soon or ever.

Now because every truth has an equal and opposite truth, someone might have said to Paul “Brother Paul, where is your faith? Jesus said “Don’t care for what you will eat or drink…”” But that’s a truth taken to its extremity so it becomes false because Jesus was a carpenter for maybe 17 years of His life. So in that verse He wasn't telling us to lazily float around. He was just telling us not to over-care or over worry or prioritise the things of this life above God.

Plus... making money from passion is completely different when a person's passion or calling is in Jesus' five ministry gifts... apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor and teacher or any other spiritual gift.

What I’ve seen is that if people that are called to be ministers of the gospel don’t work hard in another field and they're part of the Paul category, they may begin putting a charge on the gospel. Pre-paid everything, but it’s supposed to be post-free will offering and a lot of Christians don’t be giving so multiple ministers are now doing pre-paid. It’s becoming an economy. I don’t know who the first person was. The earliest pre-paid ministry I've read of was back in 1898 from Charles Parham a father of the Pentecostal movement but he quickly removed it so it must have also been common back then as well...

(Page 105, God's Generals by Roberts Liardon)

The Isaiah 55:1 scripture Parham referred to says "Ho! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat. Yes, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price." That took a lot of sacrifice on his part.

The charging must have started with bible schools, then books, then gospel CDs, then teaching CDs, then Holy oil from Jerusalem, then prayer shawls, then conferences, then worship meetings, then prophecies, then counselling, then deliverance, then then then… it will keep multiplying. That’s Christian culture now. I’ve observed that God won’t say “That’s wrong” or “That’s right” to anyone. But the Bible does have something to say about it…

1 Corinthians 9:18 What is my reward then? That when I preach the gospel, I may present the gospel of Christ without charge, that I may not abuse my authority in the gospel.

Matthew 10:8 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.

After Matthew 10:8, Jesus said...

Matthew 10:9-10 Provide neither gold, nor silver, nor brass in your purses, Nor scrip for your journey, neither two coats, neither shoes, nor yet staves: for the workman is worthy of his meat.

Meaning all the pressure of food, clothing and shelter was on the people they freely gave to. So the disciples were to freely minister their spiritual gifts and the people being ministered to were to freely give their supplies. It wasn't supposed to be forced on either side. The trouble is, when one stops freely giving, the other will stop freely giving. Till everyone's looking like...

The word used for “charge” in 1 Corinthians 9:18 above is the same word used in Luke 14:28 when Jesus was giving requirements to those that wanted to be His disciples. He told them “Which of you, wishing to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost to see if he has the resources to complete it?”

Here’s an excerpt from ourrabbijesus.com (I don’t know how true it is)…

Regarding fees – it was forbidden to charge a fee to teach the Torah, so it was common for rabbis to practice a trade part of the time and teach part of the time. Disciples did the same. Some rabbis were from priestly families, so they would have a stipend from the Temple, but many were manual laborers.

Priests on the other hand would live solely on tithes and offerings. That's the Peter and Paul contrast again.

Numbers 18:21 Behold, I have given the children of Levi all the tithes in Israel as an inheritance in return for the work which they perform, the work of the tabernacle of meeting.

Priests were solely from the tribe of Levi. Pharisees were from various tribes. Paul, a former Pharisee, was from the tribe of Benjamin. So the tithe wasn't necessarily theirs. In the New Covenant, it doesn't matter what tribe or race a person is from. It's just about calling/gifting.

Pharisees wouldn't charge for discipleship or teachings but would steal from orphans and widows. They were masters of disguise like Lucifer. So God doesn’t look at the outward appearance. He sees the heart. There was a false prophet in Nigeria that all the true prophets there knew as false but he was like a philanthropist so if you were discerning in the flesh, the devil would have you. That’s why Jesus said “watch and pray.” Always be awake in the spirit by spending time with God. The Spirit gives life, the flesh profits nothing.

The charging thing could go all the way to buying salvation and we’re back to the medieval Church selling of indulgences then Martin Luther and Jan Hus have to be raised from the dead to re-reform the Church.

(But if a very gifted person is charging for a conference or something and I feel that I just can’t miss out, I’m still going to pay lol… is that double mindedness or spiritual hunger??)

So this was Paul's life…

Acts 18:2-3 Paul went to visit them, and he stayed and worked with them because they were tentmakers by trade, just as he was.

Acts 20:33-35 I [Paul] have coveted no one’s silver or gold or apparel. Yes, you yourselves know that these hands have provided for my necessities, and for those who were with me. I have shown you in every way, by laboring like this, that you must support the weak. And remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”

That may mean not having “excellence” in the administration of gifts i.e. lights, camera, action… fancy presentation. Production costs go way down. Which isn’t really excellence defined by God but it is defined by man. I think God’s excellence depends on the measure of Christ in the minister, everything else is secondary. "Excellence" in production I believe is just to appeal to those that may really like that type of thing... "becoming all things to all men". I think we all like nice aesthetics... when videos are HD and have creative backgrounds.

If you asked Paul “Do you enjoy making these tents for money?” He would probably say “No, but it’s necessary.” From the beginning of his life he was a Pharisee. He was like Ezra. Called to be an expounder of the law from birth.

So it’s my personal belief that some people should get the qualifications for a job or business outside of their passion so the passion can flow freely (like Paul) but there are the outliers that can make all the money they need from their passion (like Peter).

That concludes this think piece.