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I DON’T COME CHEAP
by Evangelist Garlena L. Hines
“You were
bought at a price; do not become slaves of
men…"
I Corinthians 7:23
In my spare time I love watching old
television shows. My favorite show is
“Leave it to Beaver”. The other day Wally
was dating a young lady and his father was
giving him dating tips. I loved the way
Ward taught Wally how to respect and treat
the young lady. Not only did he have to
pick her up and make sure she returned home
at a decent hour, but he was also instructed
to look his best, dress up and be polite.
While times have changed, technology has
improved, some things, such as morals and
values, should remain. What happened to
those days of picking up the young lady and
meeting her family? I remember when my
mother was courting the number one question
asked was “Who are your people”? Today our
young people are in and out of
relationships, the parents have never met
the young lady/man, the parents have never
met each other, kids are dating two and
three individuals at the same time, sexually
active at an early age with different
partners and not understanding what’s going
on in the natural and definitely
misunderstanding the spiritual aspect of
sexual intercourse. Have we failed to teach
our daughters that they are NOT cheap? Have
we failed to teach our sons that they are
Kings and don’t have to adapt to what
everyone else is doing. Have we as parents
realized that “we don’t come cheap?”
Growing up in a spiritual home, my mother
had certain rules when it came to courting.
We could not court until we were sixteen and
my mother had to meet and approve of the
young man. We could not receive phone calls
after 10:00 p.m. and we had to return from
the date before midnight. My mother
believed what you can’t do before midnight
you will not do after midnight. If you
failed to adhere to those rules then you
fell under “the wrath of mother”. The main
rule to dating, when we arrived at the
restaurant or movie theater we had to call
home to say we arrived safely and when we
were leaving we called to say, “I’ll be home
in fifteen minutes”. My mother was a Godly
woman and she laid down the law. She would
meet the young man and say to him, “The way
you take my daughter out of here, she better
look like that when she returns or you will
deal with me”. Now, that’s something you
did not want to deal with….the wrath of Mary
L. Hines. While I felt my mother’s tactics
were very strict and unnecessary, as a
parent, I now understand her concern. She
was letting me know that I didn’t come
cheap.
Let’s look at some definitions of cheap:
(1) relatively low in price or charging
low prices; (2) brassy: tastelessly showy;
(3) bum: of very poor quality; flimsy and
(4) embarrassingly stingy. As I
looked at these definitions I can relate one
or more of my relationships to these
adjectives. Every time I entered into an
ungodly relationship with a man I sold
myself cheap. The times I traded my body to
have my phone bill paid, I sold myself
cheap. When one of my dates said, “I took
you out to dinner the least you can do is
return the favor in bed”, I sold myself
cheap. Whenever I was the “other woman” out
of loneliness, I sold myself cheap. When I
stayed in the relationship for physical
pleasure, I sold myself cheap. Does any of
this sound familiar? The fact that I didn’t
know who I was in Christ, or whose I was,
caused me to sell myself cheap. So, how
expensive are we?
The scripture says,
“You were bought
at a price; do not become slaves of men”…What
price is Paul talking about? Come with me
as we take a trip to Calvary. Someone had
to die for our sins that we may have eternal
life. God chose His only begotten son to
die for us. As Jesus prepared for His
death, He prayed that this bitter cup be
passed from Him, but if not He wanted to do
the will of His father. While part of that
decision was made because of His obedience
to His Father, I would love to believe that
He had me on His mind. As they took Him
from judgment hall to judgment hall, He had
me on His mind. Being beat, mocked,
whipped, humiliated, He had me on His mind.
Can you see Him take a punch in the face for
you? Can you see Him hanging on the cross
bleeding, whipped until He’s
unrecognizable? Just think --He did it for
you. At one time He cried out,
“My God, my God why has thou forsaken
me”.
At that point, God turned
His head from His Son because Jesus was
taking on the sins of the world. God is too
holy to look at sin and for a moment He
separated Himself from His Son just for us.
So, at what price were we bought? The price
of Jesus going through all of this, being
separated from His father, on the cross
dying while His mother stood by helpless
watching her baby boy suffer. He could have
called ten thousand angels, BUT He loved us
so much He went through with it. That’s the
price in which we all were bought. He paid
a debt He did not owe and we owe a debt we
cannot pay. So when we understand the price
in which Christ paid for us, then why, as
singles, do we sell ourselves cheap?
Let’s dig deep and explore some real
truths. While many of our churches are
filled with singles, many of them are in
ungodly relationships, unequally yoked
relationships, abusive relationships, sexual
active on a regular basis and some still
have that worldly mentality when it comes to
dating. What I pray you understand through
this article is when we don’t wait patiently
on God and spend quality time seeking him,
we sell ourselves cheap. If you find
yourself desiring a mate more then you
desire God, then you will be led by your
flesh and will receive the cheap end of the
deal. If you are compromising in your
relationship to keep that mate, then you are
selling yourself cheap. When you understand
what Jesus actually went through for us that
we don’t have to sin, then the word of God
will allow you to walk like the jewel you
are. When we look again at the definitions
of cheap one that stuck out to me was
embarrassingly stingy. Singles,
whenever you do not stand firm and demand to
be treated as God desires for you to be
treated, know it is an embarrassment to what
the Kingdom of God represents. The bible
says we are royal priesthood, holy people,
chosen, but yet we sometimes act like
paupers. How embarrassing to our heavenly
Father. One thing I did not like being
called as a child was stingy. Meaning I
thought of no one but myself. Whenever you
sell yourself cheap in a relationship it’s
because the other person only wants what
pleases him/her and that’s basically called
stinginess. Whenever you are asked to put
aside your morals, values, Christian beliefs
to satisfy someone else, that is
stinginess.
So, the next time you are approached to
enter into an ungodly relationship with
someone, KNOW the price Jesus paid and tell
them, “I don’t come cheap”. When you are
asked to go out to dinner and the other
party expects a return favor to the bedroom,
you must know that you are better than a #1
Combo (super sized) at McDonald’s. Tell
them you don’t come cheap. If you are in a
relationship with someone and you know you
are being mistreated, being abused, or
disrespected, then you need to look at
Calvary, grab hold of your confidence and
say, “NO MORE. I don’t come cheap”. If you
are the “other woman” and waiting for him to
divorce his wife for you, let me share
something from experience. Nine times out
of ten, it will not happen. Understand that
if an individual breaks the Holy covenant of
marriage, it’s a spirit. Don’t allow the
enemy to make you feel he’s leaving his wife
because of your hips, lips or finger tips.
Baby, you are not that fine. It’s a
spirit. The truth is, if he doesn’t get
delivered, he’ll soon leave you for someone
else. Get out of it and tell him, you
don’t come cheap. Singles, understand
every time you step out of the will of God,
we are selling ourselves cheap. While I’m
dealing with relationships, understand that
anytime we are out of His will in an area of
our lives, we are selling ourselves cheap.
Jesus came that we may have life and have it
more abundant. Some people say to me,
“Evangelist Hines, it’s easy for you not to
fall into temptation because you are a
preacher. That stuff doesn’t bother you
because you are so anointed”. Let me be
transparent for a minute…. There are times I
preach and a fine brother will cross my eye
while I’m sitting in the pulpit. I know I’m
not there for that assignment, but my
assignment is to DECLARE the word of the
Lord that others are saved. There are times
I struggle with desiring to be hugged,
loved, and even touched, but what keeps me
from calling someone over is my love for
God. There are times I want to put the
preaching license on the shelf for a minute
and get bus, but there’s some deep inside of
me that will NOT allow me to sell myself
cheap. It’s called a TRUE LOVE RELATIONSHIP
with GOD. Because I’ve been intimate with
God so many times, I keep going back for
another round. Whenever I am in that
intimate place with God, He always imparts
His power in my spirit that allows me to
tell my flesh NO. I feel the Holy Ghost
writing this article! Singles, when you
have encountered a level of intimacy with
God, what can compare? What is worth giving
up in place of your intimacy with God? What
man is worth it? What woman can come close
to it? What new car, boots, shoes,
bling-bling, getting your bills paid for a
“booty call” can match the intimacy of God?
See, when I’m intimate with God He respects
me in the morning. HEY!!! Thank you,
Jesus. Hear me good readers. It has
NOTHING to do with my title, my website or
my anointing. I love God more than I love
fleshly pleasure. See, instead of “dropping
it like it’s hot’, God teaches me how to
“hold it like it’s Holy”. It’s not that I
don’t struggle, it’s because I love God
more. See, when I re-visit Calvary, it
reminds me of the value of my worth and I’m
not a cheap, one night stand trying to
fulfill something that many don’t
understand. So don’t be deceived, my
struggle is probably greater than most
because I am a preacher. The enemy would
love for someone of my influence to fall
that he may smear my ministry.
So, as you continue into 2010, you must
begin to think of yourself as Christ does.
You are not some cheap thrill, one night
stand to be fulfilled for the moment. You
are not somebody’s boy toy, some married
man’s concubine and you’re definitely not
anyone’s chicken head. Re-evaluate your
sense of value in God and if you are walking
as a “cheap man or woman of God”, I speak
life to you….COME OUT IN THE NAME OF JESUS.
He died that we can walk priceless as He
desires. Remember, you DON’T COME CHEAP!!!
Let’s pray that we may be delivered.
Father,
I come BOLDLY before You on behalf of every
reader. To the woman who has not yet
identified herself with who You called her
to be, I pray that she will press her ear so
close to Your mouth that she will know who
she is in you. To the man who feels his
identity is in how many women he conquers, I
pray against that mentally of whoredom in
the name of Jesus. I speak life on these
singles that they will come out of bondage
and understand that You have a grater
purpose for their lives. Those struggling
with ungodly relationships, being unequally
yoked to prevent from being alone, those who
are having affairs and coming against the
covenant bond of marriage, God deliver in
the name of Jesus. I pray that the words of
this article will LEAP into the spirit of
everyone who has sold themselves cheap.
Father, do Your God “thang” in our lives.
Allow us into that secret place with You
that we may experience intimacy like never
before. God purge and cleanse us from all
ungodliness, spirits that were transferred
through sexual contact. Father, only You can
do it. God, make us virgins all over again
by Your Spirit. We thank You for it and
it’s in Jesus’ name I pray and believe.
Amen.
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