Remove Consumer Mentality

The world is saturated with a consumer mentality. Some Christians come to church calculating whether the two hours spent in worship are worthwhile. What can they get from church? People do come to church with needs, but if they consistently maintain a consumer mindset, their lives won’t grow, and it will be difficult to follow God.

Recently, we have been reading Exodus during our Morning Devotion. The Israelites, enslaved in Egypt, cried out to God, longing to escape their plight – this was their need. Later, God rescued them. Having left Egypt and tasted the Lord’s grace, their faith grew. However, to continue following God, they needed to leave their Egyptian lifestyle and slave mentality!

Likewise, our journey following God begins with our needs. But once we have come and received, we must gradually build our faith in God, removing the consumer mentality. We can no longer be immature, merely expecting God and others to meet our needs. Our lives must continually grow to firmly follow God!

Our church initially established a healing center based on the needs of our congregation. Later, as the healing center grew and demands increased, it began to overwhelm our co-workers. In the meantime, the church continued to grow and develop, from main worship services, Bible School, and equipping courses to small group pastoral care, all bringing the healing anointing of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, following God’s leading, the church dissolved the healing center, believing that the breath of Tree of Life released from the entire community is sufficient to heal all people. However, some members clung to the old model, feeling that the current atmosphere didn’t meet their needs, and so they left the church.

Dear brothers and sisters, we must have faith in God, believing in His provision and guidance. Healing isn’t limited to a specific form; we believe that God, with just a word, can bring about the Holy Spirit’s healing, even during worship. I myself have only gone through one intensive healing session; afterward, I relied on truth and faith to continue growing. What we should pursue is spiritual growth, not constantly expecting to be served. As we lead the church to follow God, we shouldn’t cater to the congregation’s needs, otherwise, in the long run, we’ll cultivate a consumer mentality among them, hindering their growth.

As the scripture says, we are to “diligently heed the voice of the Lord our God and do what is right in His sight…” (Exodus 15:26 NKJV). God said it to the Israelites on their journey as well as us today! As we walk on the path of the Tree of Life, we have truth, we have faith, we continually experience miracles, we continually grow, and we firmly follow God!■【2025.03.02】