#1 Begging and its Dignified Alternatives
Exposing Counterfeits access to Favour and how to recover from them
Welcome to our Series on Divine Favour and the exploration of dignified alternatives to most counterfeit persuasion devices practised in today’s world. If you’re just joining us, here’s where we are at, and what’s ahead:
Divine Favour: The dignified alternative to Begging, Bootlicking, Seduction and Lobbying
#1 Begging and its Dignified Alternatives ←This post
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The Counterfeit Industry
Per Wikipedia —
To Counterfeit means to imitate something authentic, with the intent to steal, destroy, or replace the original, for use in illegal transactions, or otherwise to deceive individuals into believing that the fake is of equal or greater value than the real thing.
World Customs Organization reported that 5%–10% of all global merchandise is counterfeit; at the same time, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that an alarming 10% of all medicines are counterfeit1.
Most times, counterfeit products are often produced with the intent to take advantage of the superior value of the imitated product.
A popular brand (product) becomes the target for counterfeiters who intend to profit off the high consumer demand for that brand. Producers invest heavily in brand protection as part of their business expenditure. Consumers are also expected to recognise the brand marks that differentiate original products; consumers’ money spent to purchase counterfeit products are automatically forfeited.
Similarly, Favour is a vital asset required to navigate life profitably. Being so important, Favour is valuable and scarce.
I believe that the Enemy takes advantage of man’s fallen nature to inspire counterfeit accesses to corrupt the outcomes of Favour.
We already know that for a Christian and person of Faith, anything obtained with an impure motive or through an inappropriate means will be discounted and ultimately forfeited in the afterlife — no reward.
I have learnt by experience that when a man obtains counterfeit favours, he will become a victim of abuse and exploitation. Today, many people are under undue bondage and intense pressure because of favours granted to them in the past.
I’ve often asked myself, “where then is the pleasure of having something if it leads to exploitation, slavery, bondage and doesn’t count ultimately?”
In this series of posts, I’ll dive into details of the counterfeit access to Favour and show the dignified alternatives to each using biblical examples.
BEGGING — This is the practice of imploring others to grant a favour, often a gift of money, with little or no expectation of reciprocation.
The root cause of begging is a poverty mindset.
Poverty is different from a poverty mindset — being poor is not synonymous with begging.
Someone can be genuinely poor, but that is not a license to beg. On the other hand, many seemingly rich people also beg.
Begging is a syndrome in which the beggar looks to the hands (or pockets) of another as the source of their livelihood, and they weaponise guilt-tripping and emotional blackmail to collect what they are not entitled to.
Beggars want to dispossess you of what you have without exchanging any value for it. Beggars sometimes exploit their relationships.
Beggars are everywhere, not just on the streets — in schools, homes, families, corporations, and government.
Jesus introduced a manager who was asked to tidy up his books because he was to be sacked for some shady practices. In his thought process, this manager confessed that he was too lazy to work and also ashamed to beg (more on this later), but for now, it suffices to say that the manager recognised that begging was shameful.
A beggar automatically becomes handicapped — put in a condition that makes it difficult (if not impossible) to function physically, mentally and socially. Figuratively, Begging cuts off the limbs, deadens the brain and denigrates the capacity to produce anything valuable.
Such individuals cannot participate in the production economy and therefore sacrifice their future for a morsel of bread — ask Esau, who sold his birthright for food.
I have observed, and I am sure you have too, that persons who are used to begging are rarely able to produce any value by and for themselves; they beg all through their lives.
I often tease young people with, “kings don’t beg; when you beg, you appear desperate, and when you are desperate, you’ll end up vulnerable “— setting oneself up to be taken advantage of.
A famous Yiddish proverb says, “you cannot hold your head high, with your hand out”. — what is lost is far more than what is received through begging.
Another exciting dimension of begging is the act of begging God to influence someone else to share what they own.
A young man asked Jesus (in the form of prayer), “Master, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”
Jesus replied, “Man (speaking to mankind in general), who appointed me a judge or a referee between you? beware of covetousness; life is not measured in the abundance of possessions” (Luke 12:13-15).
Dignified Alternatives to Begging
1. Giving
Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again (Luke 6:38, NKJV).
The giver will always have Favour in abundance.
I know there are real needs in this life; I also know that when God favours someone, all their needs will be supernaturally met.
Giving is not just money; it may be your time, attention, knowledge, skill, energy, and other intangible resources.
Think of it, no one is really that poor to the extent that they have nothing to give. In the worst-case scenario, a genuinely poor man will have time to spare; Time is the greatest asset any man possesses.
Peter and John said silver and gold we have not, but such as we have, we give. There is always “a such as we have”, even when we don’t have silver, gold, or cash. We can start with Time; everyone has it, whether rich or poor.
Beggars are often stigmatised as undeserving and unworthy, but Givers are obsessed with how they can add value to someone’s life and bring colour and beauty to it.
In the same way that Beggars beg without expectation of reciprocation, Givers give without expectation of any reciprocation. It is true that we reap what we sow, but not always from where we sow.
The key to this type of Giving is not to expect anything from the targets we gave to. Jesus taught us that we should give to those who cannot repay us; in doing so, we set ourselves up for great rewards (Luke 6:30-35).
In addition, Giving must be done cheerfully, not grudgingly. A grudgingly offered gift is wasted, and wasters will soon become beggars themselves — remember the prodigal son (Luk 15:13).
2. Work
Paul once said, “anyone unwilling to work should not eat”; it is that serious.
I once heard someone teach that when someone comes to stay with you, you are only obliged to cater for them for a maximum of three days. On the third day, try to get them a job. If they refuse to work, then stop feeding them!
Paul was not a beggar; in several instances, you’ll hear him say, “my hands worked to cater for my needs and those with me “(Acts 20:34); Paul was a tent-maker by trade, yet, you find the Philippians church sending things to meet Paul’s needs again and again (Phil 4:16).
The sluggard will not plough because of the cold — does not regard any work condition as conducive — and will instead resort to begging (Prov 20:4).
There is so much dignity and worth in right and honest labour regardless of the degree of the work. But I know people who would rather beg than work.
In all labour, there is profit, and to the one that has, more will be given; by contrast, everything will be taken from the ones who have not acquired any worth through work.
Asking Vs Begging
Indeed, we must sometimes ask people for favours. Though sharing similarities, asking is different from begging. Check out the following metrics (I call it the Beggar-o-meter) to measure and determine begging in every asking scenario.
Meet the “Beggar-o-Meter”
Are you a Giver?
Are you a Worker?
Do you feel entitled to the object of the request?
Is your request exploiting a relationship in your life?
Does your request entail the use of guilt-tripping or emotional blackmail?
Will the object of request satisfy your lust for money, power or fame?
With time, do you consider yourself capable of personally acquiring the object of your request?
In Conclusion
As an alternative to Begging, Giving and Working increase the workers’ worth and make them candidates to be Highly Favoured. Or what do you think?
Azubuike ✌️
https://www.sciencedirect.com/book/9780128053102/introduction-to-security
For giving to be accepted, it must be done with the right motives
The beggar-o-meter really, has giving me an insight to the difference between the two concepts of asking and begging. To be very honest, this is an almost perfect way to decipher the subject matter of begging to its simplest form, anyone should understand this!
Thank you very much for this sir. God will continue to increase you in knowledge.