Consecrations of Honoraria

For those who do not know the word ‘honorarium’, it is a compensation or appreciation for services that do not have a predetermined value. Since our setting is christian, honoraria is given to mostly preachers after they have ministered; or gospel musicians on doing the same.

This is usually in form of money. But gifts of all manner have come on the scene in the name of honoraria: harvests, money, cars, houses, jets, lands — whatever the Lord may place on the heart of the ‘honorer’. Sometimes this is called ‘a seed.’

Recently, I realized that words can as well be honoraria. Let me explain. I was led to pray for someone so often once this year began, and he was immensely blessed. He would send back audios where he’d prophesy as well. We were acquaintances. Soon he began saying he loves me. Once, twice, thrice — randomly.

To give you context, I’ve been on a journey of searching for male affection! Not that I am ‘of the world’, but having lost my father, my best friend, and — the biological brother I follow (whose wound is still fresh), I won’t lie, I have been desperate! Pulling any guy who would be a shadow of any of these into my circle. It is so complex and confusing at the same time. I thought God was availing all of them. But then again, it felt like successfully trapping a fish in my net, only to lose it in a moment.

Anyhow, the more the person I was praying for sent thank yous, and placed me in the brother zone, I started feeling entitled. If you say I am your brother, I am going to expect certain things! If you say you love me, I am going to expect some things. Jesus Himself said if we love Him we should obey His commands.

Perhaps one of my love languages is quality time; and so, I began expecting this guy to be available once in a while — for a movie perhaps, or any activity. Promises always flew about — empty. Calls were rarely picked. It began to hurt. I understand that we can really be busy and going through different things in life; and so I cannot be so selfish and inconsiderate, blaming him for us failing to meet. They call it adulting.

The ‘honorer’ might be free to honor at anytime in anyway, but the honoree is subject to temptation or a snare, and we must be discerning. Us failing to meet up for a long time was giving red flags! And so I had to discontinue this. You’d end up hating someone God previously sent you to minister to because of those small mishaps. Jonah was a culprit until God taught Him a little bit more.

If you are a prophetic single girl, and you are led to pray for a random hot guy, you could start catching feelings. You could end up manipulating him to take care of your bills unbeknownst to you, or … expect him to! But if he is mature, and he refuses, you will be offended, and even if God wants to use you to minister to him again, you could be too offended to deliver…

When I was disappointed at the honorer in my case, God told me that He never at once sent me to him as a ‘brother’, but a messenger: His very messenger, and mouth piece. The getting hurt was not His doing! Maybe it’s a me issue — getting attached along the way, but surely the conviction was evident. So I had to return the honor in shape of words respectfully. I had to rebound the honorarium because it was placing me in a difficult spot. The right person to honor much more is God, because I was merely used as a conduit to deliver. I was not the actual substance.

Let me add another example. The music of Brooke Fraser got me obsessed. You might know her as Brooke Ligertwood, the writer of What a Beautiful name under Hillsong. As Brooke Fraser, her career centered around christianity, but with a high degree of subtility immersed in parables and symbolism. Her song Magical Machine is one of my favorites. It describes God as a machine and it opens saying, ‘I am your telescope, help you to see other worlds upclose. I am your submarine, you’ll explore where you’ve never been…’ When I worship with it, I relate so much, because this is what God has been doing to me in terms of revelation in His word. Because of excitement, I have severally attempted to write to Brooke especially on her socials in appreciation. She never responds … to my sadness. When I got frustrated the more, God sat me down and said,”But it is I singing. I am the one helping you see and explore. Not her.”

In other words, ‘why labor so much, as if her response would fulfill the words being sang.’ It would — if I illustrate again — be akin to writing to Apostle Paul today. We know He is dead and therefore cannot respond. But that is no reason to cause for frustration knowing the actual author behind the scene is the Holy Spirit: God’s own Spirit … God Himself. Thus, we have the author with us. Yes, we can appreciate the vessel used, but like my case, the point was to point the subject to GOD, through prophecy, and not to the prophet! Brooke is pointing me to God, and not to herself. The end wasn’t to thank her, but to thank Him; to see Him, to know Him, and hear Him talk to me by the devices and milieu in my sphere.

God showed me examples from the Bible — and it all began to make sense — why these men rejected honoraria or ‘seed.’ Abraham politely declined the spoils of war in Genesis 14 when he had fought and helped the 5 kings of whom one was the king of Sodom. Four kings had allied against the 5, and in due process Lot, Abram’s nephew was taken captive. When Abram received word of it, he went out to battle with men from his household, defeated the 4, and restored freedom to the captives. The king of Sodom then offered goods (I think in the name of appreciation), but Abram said, “With raised hand I have sworn an oath to the Lord, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, that I will accept nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or the strap of a sandal, so that you will never be able to say, ‘I made Abram rich.’

Honoring involves the giving of some sort of gift (Prov 3:9-10) and I’d think the above qualifies. But like Abram reasoned, he empasizes the quality of ensnarement that would come with.

Another gentleman said he wanted to be like me in 2019. In his opinion, I had gained much progress in life and he wanted the same. All I told him to do was to join me during my weekly prayer retreats. In that period, he received apostleship, and a lot of speed in the things of the spirit. He honored me with delicate and sweet words, and I clung to them, as though they were a source of identity. I found myself camping from the well of words he had made; feeding from it … fueling by it. When he disappeared, I kept checking on him once in a while. Partly, it was genuine. The other part, well, I’d hear God ask, ‘ Are you really checking on him? Or checking on your fuel? On the thing that makes you feel good or tells you that you matter.’

Regardless, God reminded me that it’s His voice that best describes how much I matter; and that I am dead (Gal 2:20)! I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

The dead do not react to good either, as to the bad. Apostle Grace Lubega once said ‘be immune not only to people’s criticisms but to their praise also.’ The honorarium can trap us. Not that it is bad. But our weaknesses may cling to it. Our humanness. Abraham honored Melchizedek with a tenth. But Melchizedek represented Jesus — God Himself. Who is unable to be tempted by earthly things.

Balak tempted Balaam as well with gifts that he may curse Israel. The more Balaam resisted, the handsomer the gifts became; even those that brought them were higher in rank than the predecessors. Even after God saying no the first time, better gifts made Balaam pretend he hadn’t heard God well the first time. It was a good enticer, and it is by God’s sheer mercy that Balaam overcame the temptation of divination.

Divination to me could mean: right gift, wrong purpose or end. Many God’s messengers start off well, only to end offtrack. This article is for those more likely to be honored; to foresee evil and hide themselves. (Prov 22:3). Maybe our hearts are not as pure or withstanding against such at this new level or dimension. Like Abraham we must see a potential outcome and upset it. Daniel as well did so when Nebuchadnezzar’s son Belshazzar offered gifts to anyone who’d interpret the writing on the wall. He said, “You may keep your gifts for yourself and give your rewards to someone else. Nevertheless, I will read the inscription for the king and interpret it.”

Daniel expressed a maturity and a level of consecration all children of God must go through if we are not to fall victim of divination. Consecration can mean circumcising as well. Once that front skin is cut off, it can’t grow back. Once we die to a certain degree, we are blind to these gifts. We are not moved by them. We freely give the gifts of God, because He freely gave them to us. He told Abraham that He was his reward. Whenever Daniel interpreted a dream, even when he rejected the gifts, he’d be promoted. But this promotion is God fulfilling Psalms 75:6-7, which says promotion comes from neither the east nor west … but from Him, who puts down one and sets up another. Since the heart of the king is in His hand (Prov 21:1), He turns it to promote Daniel just like He turned Pharaoh’s to harden towards the Israelites. This seems like His reward for us passing the test of preferring lesser rewards or other rewards over Him.

The promotion comes after we settle that God alone is worthy to reward us. It comes when we acknowledge that He’s not only our rewarder, but our reward itself. And what gift can claim more merit or value than God? How can purple raiment compare? How can gold compare? We must either be sufficient enough not to require honoraria after our ministries in different places; such that whether given or not, we are not still the same. Many ministers even demand for a particular amount for honoraria!

‘If not five thousand dollars, then you can’t afford my availability!’ Ah, the fruit of humility lacks! Divination here is the placing of a charge or a fee on gifts from God, whose value is so priceless that He requires we give them for free.

Yes, it is true that who the son sets free is free indeed! But lo I have seen a way we can imprison ourselves again! Either we go through all these teachings to show that we are already free, or to show that the freedom is in levels. One could not be in a prison cell, but they could still be having both shackles and chains round their legs and hands! It could also be to prove your freedom: We claim the fruit of the Holy Spirit. But we won’t tell how much joy we have within, until distress rains. We won’t tell how patient we are until we are put to the test. We can long suffer, yes! But how long! How much has His spirit capacitated us. You are an athlete, good! But how high can you jump? How fast can you run!

The honorer is free to honor anyway they feel. But I think they should be guided. If not by us, then the Holy Spirit atleast. I think it’d be weird if an unmarried man sent pricey hand bags and jewelry to a married woman preacher. It is honor, but it’d be misinterpreted.

I myself I’m still in the School of the Spirit for life, and I know I have to RUN, when divination is about to be begot; or if God’s gifts and graces upon me could end up being misused. No wonder in 2 Kings 9 the servant to Elisha anointed Jehu as King, finished, and RAN out!

Here’s a recap;

In 2 Kings 5, Naaman, comes to be healed of leprosy from Syria. But he did not come empty handed. The account says, ‘So Naaman went to Israel. He took 750 pounds of silver, 6000 pieces of gold and ten changes of clothes as gifts.’ The NKJV says 10 talents (400kgs) of silver and 6000 shekels (68.4kg) of gold. That would be 382,756 dollars ($956.89 per kg of silver)and $5,509,656.25 ($80550.53 per kg of gold) today. Look at all that cash! Just for the mere healing of leprosy. This is close to 22 billion Uganda shillings. This is more than enough to sponsor hundreds of kidney or liver or heart surgeries if each is just 100 million. And this was all a reward for a skin disease that vanished when Namaan washed himself in the Jordan as commanded by Elisha.

When it came time to receive the reward, Elisha said, “As the Lord lives, before whom I stand, I will receive nothing.” Naaman urged him to take it, but he refused.

The level of death to self needed for one to turn a blind eye to all that money in today’s era is BANANAS!

But not to go ahead of ourselves, Gehazi the servant of Elisha, when he saw that he had turned it down, followed Naaman secretly, and deceived that Elisha had reconsidered; but only to take one talent of silver and be given to two of his servants. Naaman gave two. Gehazi hid them from Elisha, but Elisha had seen it all by way of the Spirit. Gehazi was cursed by the same leprosy, and dismissed. This is why I assume, he told his new servant to run as fast as he could after anointing Jehu four chapters later. Makes sense now?

Do you know what I’d have done after such an assignment? Do you know the pump increment that would befall my swag? ‘I mean, I just anointed the next King of Israel!’ Even the King himself could have had a reward prepared for this servant to either take to Elisha. What if he himself was tempted? What if he hid one out of ten of what he was given, and cause Elisha to repeat what he once did!

Elisha indeed was wise to provide a solution to avoid what happened once from recapitulating. And I think that is the message from this; that if we do not feel immune yet to people’s praises, we must provide solutions. If we know the honor will get to our heads, we can say no to the gifts! And if God has insisted that you honor someone, maybe you can subtly bring your gift, such that the honoree never knows where it came from.

Beyond saying no however, we must understand God as a reward sufficient for our laboring for Him! It is an issue of understanding, beyond consecration — or understanding of consecration; of the death of us that now, it is God that lives in us. We might not say no by our strength, but He can help, especially if we are to continue with our races to obtain the mark of the higher callings.

If I was one that Biggie prayed for or delivered a prophecy, I must pray thanking God for speaking through Biggie, and then I must focus on Him. On God. Biggie must not only decrease but God should increase! He must be eliminated out of the picture entirely! Unless if God by choice keeps him in! But I am dead! And so He must be as though possessing me! When the preachers are teaching, we must get them out; and see God reaching to us!

God expects us to honor Him, our parents, one another, and even doubly those that labor in His word to teach us. That is one part of the coin. The other is how each of these will react when honored. Gehazi wasn’t dead to self, and so he chased unrighteous mammon. He’d have been the next Elijah, but he was cut off the lineage…

God help us! God teach us! And continue to kill us, like you have killed the hatred we once had and the darkness we bore while we were yet sinners. Even in such matters, we need your leading. Give us solutions to keep us from ensnarement. And we continue to submit to thee O Jesus, who is able to keep us from falling, and to present us before the Father blameless, and without spot! (Jud 1:24-25,Eph 5:27)

I recount Proverbs 22:3 again. It doesn’t say ‘the prudent foresee evil and hide from it’. Meaning, the evil could be inevitable — coming for everyone like rain on a rainy day … but hiding oneself is ceasing to exist! Being absent! It is one thing to be awake while it is raining, and it is another to sleep through it all (like Jesus in the boat), and when you awake, and people are recounting what went down, you cannot relate because you were absent in that moment.

Imagine Lazarus coming out the tomb after 4 days. He was on the same earth yes, but he was ‘hidden’ from occurences. If covid came for 2 days in Bethany, he’d have been in a much safer place from contamination. And when he moved out, he would have asked why there were many graves at the city cemetry. Notice the difference between merely hiding from from evil and hiding yourself. In fact this does no justice to what I am trying to exegete.

If that scripture used ‘forget’ instead of ‘hide’, it would say, ‘the prudent man foresees evil and forgets (hides) himself.’ That is different from ‘forgets it.’ This is precisely the meaning of consecration — of death! Not conscious of self, of desires, or needs. Tell me then how you will be moved by 5 million dollars being lost! This is the trick to saying ‘no’ to honoraria that could ensnare us. Continually dying to self; and being content that God who consists of all universes and things seen and unseen is a reward of much more endless worth.

Also; a minister at any level must be rich, or maybe content, or (I can’t avoid saying this) ‘dead’ looking to God only as your provider; especially if someone greater than you in a particular capacity approaches. It is one thing for a congregant to honor an already established pastor, and it is another if the president of a country comes to do the same. If say a finance minister honors you with millions of money, depending on your relationship, you could easily be tempted to think of him or her as a bail out cue card once upon a crisis. But if your financial state is well, they will not come up as options. The queen from Sheba honored King Solomon with all manner of spices, but the Bible says she left Solomon’s courts with much much more than she had given him (literally). I was honored with 200k (53 dollars) after being used by God in a setting-apart prayer time with a friend. Of course financially she is far ahead, being older, but when I was low on finances, I was inclined to turning to her (and not bothering to turn to my God). Yet the trust of man is a snare. In His kindness, He educated me; and I took note.

May God continue to help us! … God teach us! Continue; killing our flesh, flooding the eyes of our understanding with enlightment and giving us the spirit of wisdom and revelation in this knowledge of you, that we may show ourselves approved, rightly dividing your truth . . . and immune to all manner of honoraria!