"The church only contacts me now to ask for money in their capital campaigns and estate planning seminars."
How it sounds in your head: No visits, no calls, no cards—until they're raising money. Then suddenly I get personal letters from the pastor. They see a death date and a dollar sign, nothing more. I'm a target, not a son.
"And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus."
-- Philippians 4:19Religious institutionalism that prioritizes budgets over people, reducing the elderly to financial prospects rather than beloved family members.
Three capital campaign letters this year, zero personal visits. The 'estate planning seminar' invitation came addressed to him by name, but the pastor doesn't know he's been in hospice for two months. The evidence is damning.
Jesus watched the rich give large sums and the widow give two mites. He didn't value her for how much she could give to the treasury—He HONORED her for her heart, and rebuked the system that devoured widows' houses.
I REFUSE the lie that my value is in my wallet. IT IS WRITTEN that MY GOD supplies all MY need—I'm not the supplier, I'm the SUPPLIED. I am a son, not a donor base. The church may see a balance sheet, but my Father sees a BELOVED child coming home soon. IT IS WRITTEN that I am blessed and the head not the tail—I don't exist to fund institutions, I exist to be LOVED by my Father. The BARAK blessing means I am blessed, not used. I will not let religious fundraising redefine my identity in my final days. I am the son the Father runs toward, not the prospect the institution pursues.
Father's heart burns with anger toward institutions that see His dying children as ATMs, and He's preparing a Kingdom where you'll never be reduced to your net worth—you're royalty, not a revenue stream, beloved beyond calculation.