Ask and it shall be given you;seek, and ye shall find;knock, and it shall be opened unto you .

 

Ask Seek Kneck

Matt7:7-8

 

 

Dear viewers/readers,

 

How are you doing in Christ? We are so fine. Thanks God! We are happy to launch a new sub- column where we entertain your questions. So, share your worries with us. We would try our best to address them by refering to books and authorities. For today, we have presented one, which we got from a local source that has appeared on/Simala stidq Gazeta/. God bless us all Amen!!

 

My life has been fettered by love of money !

 

My Dears,

 

My parents first sent me to Church school with the dream of nurturing me in the teachings of the Church. I managed to study the teachings from alphabets to quinne /poetry/. I have also served as a deacon for two years. In 1998, I came to the Dessie Medhane'Alem Church and started studying Hymnology. But, my study was shortlived by a lethal comment of a lady. It so happened that I stood by her door begging for my daily bread as per the tradition. quite contrary to the warm treatment which Church pupils have been enjoying for millenia, this lady took me as a lazy loiterer and reacted, saying, “why not you work and win your bread rather than live in laziness and beggary?” This comment, together with the impoverished life of my masters which I witness daily, made me so hopless that I made myself a drop-out to resort to an out-and –out secular search of money. I started the worldly business as a lottery vender and have now moved to selling socks and other dresses in the street. When I sell better, I feel happy and thank God. I recite the psalter and praise of Mother Mary. When I fail to sell well, I even do not go to church leave alone making daily recitation of such prayer scriptures. Many others are also dropping their school following my example. This worries me much and what do you advise me?

 

Dear brother,

To answer your question, it is important to probe into the different issues that you have raised, we-believe.

 

Let us first see the lady's comment. The tradition has been that the public feed (Sponsor) the pupils and they in turn would at times help the society in works like ploughing its field and gathering its produce. This tradition has now faced two challenges.

 

The first is the aggravation of poverty, As the peasant society is getting poorer and poorer; it would be difficult to remain generous. The other is the escalating attitude of denouncing the tradition, which is eroding the society's love to such schooling system.

 

The lady's comment arose most probably because of either of or all of these causes. If we ask whether she was wrong, the answer could be yes and no. She is wrong for she has taken the schooling life as one of laziness. She has forgotten that she was despising the future Deacon, Priest, Archbishop, Master or even Patriarch.

 

This is not all. If she had something to give and had the will to do so, she could have given you some. If not, she could have sent you in peace with a healthy no and wishing the best for you to get from God. Unfortunately, she has resorted to a bad comment that you are still feeling to your bones and has affected your life much.

 

She could be said right in the sense that she is only a reflection of the changing situation. At a time when the church should have adopted a slort of cost sharing community based education that could liberate the pupils from dependence on others for their basic means, we have done nothing.

 

She could be in a way commenting on this failure to live up to the demand of the time yet, such a comment should not have lead you and your likes off the track though it might be so painful. It should rather have made you so aggressively committed to creating parallel jobs to change the situation without totally dropping your sanctified call. It was a reaction from a lady that led the great Monk, Abune Antonios(Entons), to a life of celibacy. It was a time the life style was unknown.

 

He was in his cell when she came to take a bath in a nearby river . As she took off her clothes and started bathing herself, the abune asked her why she was not ashamed to do all that in front of a monk. Angrily, she reacted to him saying, “If you are a monk as you claim, why not you go to a desert?” Abune Entos realized that she has the truth in her and he right away left for a desert. You see, she served as the immediate cause for the inception of the now well-established life of celibacy. Thus, you could have taken that criticism leveled against you constructively. According to St. Paul, ”... we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.” Rom. 8:28.

 

As you say, the fact that our fathers in the church are leading a very much-impoverished life has made you hopeless. This is, we think, your big mistake. Do you think the solution is to keep yourself away from Church education? NO! The solution is to work towards changing the grim situation while remaining sheltered there. If your abode gets dilapidated, the solution is not to totally forsake it. You should rather think of maintenance.

 

You have also told us that you are coming to worship money. This has, in your own words, started as you started selling socks. What you have to know is that love of money has nothing do with the amount of riches you have. Fathers like Abraham were very rich. Yet, they considered themselves as needy to overcome conceit. The woman who had barely two dinars overcame her lust by donating all she has. The problem is not from your act of generating income. If you do your best to support yourself financially while working hard on your schooling, it is really commendable. So, you better ask why you should raise money.Is just to raise it and take it as your blood or is it to support yourself and create a conducive environment for your education? You need to take time to ponder over this.

 

If you thank God only when you gain money and turn your face away when you do not have it, it appears you want Him only for money. God has created you in His own image. You have brain, health, knowledge and other assets. Here after, it is your share to labor and sweat. It is man's weakness to make God responsible for the problem he faces.” Let no man say, when he is temptsd I am tempted of God for God can not be tempted with evil,neither tempteth he any man in evil, “says the holy Bible. James 1:13. So, you need to pray and solve it. We want to advise you that you need to this word of Good- “... the love of money is the root of all evil which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves with many sorrows.” 1Timoty, 6:10. It is from this that other works of the flesh /adultery, fornication, witchcraft, harted, etc/ follow. Gal.5:19. To work is not a sin. After all, St.

 

Paul has commanded that we need to work to win our means of survival. 2Th.3: 8-10. So, if you study while working for survival, it is great. St. Paul himself had to work for his survival while laboring day in and day out for the dissemination of the Gospel. Act. 20:34-35.

 

You have example in deserting their schools. You and your likes would set a good example if you organise yourselves and try to come up with a long-lasting means of supporting yourselves and your masters You will also create a more conducive environment for your education. Otherwise, if just see the short-term means of winning your life, there is the danger of being irrevocably lost let

 

God bless you and His mother be with you in her grace. Amen!