“Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.”
This old proverb says that its more worthwhile to teach someone to do something (for themselves) than to do it for them (on an ongoing basis).
While I was living in Africa, I saw this first hand in the lives of those living in rural areas. Many of these African people were living in poverty, often needing a hand out, especially in hard times. As a Christian we have a responsibility to look after the poor, but when its not done with wisdom those people would always be the same and never learn to overcome in life, remaining victims and instead of victors. But there is always a better way for everyone to do things. Missionaries with a farming background from New Zealand would come over to Africa and teach rural people how to farm ‘’smartly’ so that they would not just have enough for themselves each year but have enough left over, to not only feed themselves and others but make more money to invest in their future. Having Knowledge is power.
Jesus said that we are to make disciples of others and this is one way that it can be done, by imparting wisdom into the lives of others so that they can prosper themselves and not be so dependent on hand outs.
Unfortunately, many Christians are living as beggars in life, going from hand to mouth expecting handouts from God all the time. You may say “What’s wrong with that?” “Isn’t God our Heavenly Father who supplies all our needs?” “Yes He is our Heavenly Father but He wants us to mature to the place where knowledge delivers us from a victim mentality. With the right kind of knowledge, we can reign in life through Christ.
“The sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to be king over all, but all who will take God’s gift of forgiveness and acquittal are kings of life because of this one man, Jesus Christ.” Romans 5:17
The Lord would rather we learn how to live with a prosperous mentality than be under a spirit of poverty. You can live as a beggar in life asking God to give you more money, but He would rather you learn His principles and give away more, sowing into your future and then reaping a harvest. Its Gods desire that you have more than enough and become a blessing to others.
“Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.” 2 Corinthians 9:10-11
This also applies in the area of our personal health. We can cry out to God every time we get sick and He can come and heal you, but there is a better way. If this is how you live all the time, then you may not change much year after year but God wants you to become more like Jesus, which is His ultimate goal. He doesn’t want us to remain as infants.
God doesn’t want us to be beggars, but Kings reigning in life with Christ, Victors and not Victims. For this change to take place we need to learn how to fish rather than expect a handout all the time, for knowledge is power. We need to change our thinking. We need to get rid of stinking thinking.
To give you an example, I used to get sick often every year from one thing or another and would ask God to heal me, but I eventually saw in the word that healing was all part of my inheritance in Christ and I began to tap into it. I realised that it was my responsibly to believe rather than keep begging for something that I already had been given. With this change in my thinking I resisted any symptom that came my way and dosed myself on the word to keep my faith up. Praise God that as I have learned to fish for myself my doctor hasn’t seen me for years.
“For everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.” 1 John 5:4
This way of thinking becomes a lifestyle that God wants all of His children to live by. Its not for the lazy or those who would still want to live on handouts. This lifestyle requires wisdom and knowledge and that comes from God and His word alone.
Paul teaches us how to live like this in his epistles and gives us verses like Colossians 1. Notice how it says to use your mind and set it on things above.
“Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.” Colossians 3:1-4
“Christ’s resurrection is your resurrection too. This is why we are to yearn for all that is above, for that’s where Christ sits enthroned at the place of all power, honor, and authority! Yes, feast on all the treasures of the heavenly realm and fill your thoughts with heavenly realities, and not with the distractions of the natural realm. Your crucifixion with Christ has severed the tie to this life, and now your true life is hidden away in God in Christ.” TPT
The problem with verses like this is that they are so abstract when compared to our daily living and don’t seem to relate to everyday life. Its much easier when we get into a problem to just cry out to God to fix it than to learn to live from this authoritive position in the Heavenly Realms. This is a lifestyle that we can live from everyday. It requires us to understand what happened on the cross and through this live from the abiding presence of the resurrected Christ. It’s an abiding encounter with the Almighty God, that will change our thinking from a victim mentality to that of a Victor. This can be called thinking from the throne rather than from the earth as most of us do. Redeemed thought starts with what the Lamb of God has already accomplished for us on the cross and everything in our lives comes under the effect of that single supreme reality. It’s a whole new way of thinking. We read in Ephesians 1:16-24 that every enemy was absolutely defeated when Christ was raised from dead and then seated on the throne in the centre of the universe as the Lamb of God, the Supreme Ruler. This is something God wants us to think about, understand and believe. We need to realise that Jesus didn’t just do all of this for us but as us. This revelation is a Game Changer. It really teaches us how to fish the best way possible.
In Mark 8:14-21 the disciples wanted to know where their next lunch was going to come from, even after Jesus had multiplied food twice. He asked them why they were thinking like this? Why does your reasoning start with the fact that you have no bread? Especially after tasting of such a supernatural supply. When you have experienced a miracle like this you have lost the right to begin any thought pattern with what you don’t have. It now should come from a position of what you do have. Why does your reasoning start with the fact that you have no bread? They had been exposed to a kingdom where there is no lack of supply - ever. The truth is that we live under the kingdom we think most about. We live under the effect, the powers and reasoning’s of that kingdom that we are anchored in. What our hearts and minds are anchored in, affect our lives. The wrong type of thinking leads to poverty. This is why its so important to think about and believe what Jesus accomplished for us on the cross.
Ask yourself the question. ‘Who is on the throne?’ Jesus as the lamb of God is on the throne. Redeemed thought thinks like this. This is renewed mind thought, and its effect ripples out into our lives. We stand upon the truth that every enemy is now under His feet and ours.
Many try to earn from God what He has already paid the price for. We need to know that all that we try and earn has already been bought based on what He was worth and how He has now qualified us. One of the most amazing truths is that He has died ‘as you’ and was resurrected ‘as you’. He now stands before the Father ‘as you’. You are not going to reign in life unless you give your mind to consider all that He did for us on the cross, and this will require some effort on your part. Paul says that we are to set our minds on things above, for that is where our life is. You’ll not discover this life of being hidden away in God unless you give yourself to consider what He has already established and accomplished for you on the cross.
When you start understanding this you’ll throw off a poverty mentality and begin to reign in life. When you understand that Christ is standing at the right hand of the Father and that you are in Him it changes everything. You begin to think from the throne and experience the abundant life. You’ll be tapping into His life, His knowledge and His power in such a way that you will truly be a blessing to others and not so needy anymore. You’ll really be fishing in a massive trawler manned by Jesus with drag nets, instead of eating sardines from a can.