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Every empire tells you the same lie: “We’re here to help.” But when you pull back the curtain, you find the same truth over and over—whether it’s Rome, Britain, America, China, or the global corporations of today—help is never given freely. It always comes with strings. It always comes with a price.
Take the grocery store charity checkout line. You think you’re giving to feed the hungry. But behind the register, there are financial structures—donor-advised funds, deductions, public image boosts. It’s not “for the people.” It’s for accounting. Even when billions are parked in charitable funds, only pennies ever reach the poor, while the wealthy capture the tax benefit immediately. The system was built on incentive, not compassion.
Governments act the same way. Rome promised its people “bread and circuses,” food and entertainment, but it was never out of kindness—it was to keep the population docile. In modern America, stimulus checks were hailed as generosity. But the Congressional Budget Office shows what really happened: trillions were borrowed, debt soared, and interest bills ballooned. Relief wasn’t free—it was just delayed taxation. You got a few thousand dollars, but your children inherited a mountain of debt. That’s the bargain of empire: short-term crumbs, long-term chains.
Look at corporations. They structure themselves as pass-through entities, LLCs, offshore trusts, or nonprofit foundations. Billions flow tax-free. When ordinary citizens attempt the same schemes—“unincorporated business trusts,” offshore hiding, or tax defiance—they end up prosecuted, fined, or jailed. One rule for the powerful, another for the powerless. That’s why every empire has its scapegoats—the ones punished for playing by the same rules as the rulers.
Police departments? Investigations like Ferguson revealed budgets that depended on fines and fees. Officers were pressured to write tickets, not to protect citizens, but to balance ledgers. And when that wasn’t enough, “civil asset forfeiture” let them seize cash, cars, and property without even a conviction. It’s legalized theft dressed as justice.
History is full of dynasties proving the point. In New York, Tammany Hall ran the city as a family business of graft. In Chicago, the Daley dynasty controlled politics for half a century. Today, elites sit on boards, fund campaigns, and use think tanks as their modern castles. Every city, every state, every nation has families who pull the strings—not for love, not for the people, but for the preservation of their own name.
This is why Scripture warns, “Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation” (Psalm 146:3). Human help is never free. It always costs you your freedom. But God’s help? That comes by covenant, not by contract.
When Joseph was betrayed by his brothers, he didn’t get a government bailout. He was sold as a slave, falsely accused, and imprisoned. Yet God lifted him to second-in-command in Egypt, and through forgiveness, Joseph became the one who saved entire nations from famine.
When Elijah hid from Ahab’s wrath, no storehouse or treasury sustained him. God sent ravens with meat. Later, a widow’s jar of oil never ran dry. She wasn’t taxed, fined, or manipulated. She obeyed in humility, and God’s economy kept her alive.
The Israelites in the wilderness grumbled, yet manna fell daily. Not once did Pharaoh or Canaan send relief checks. God Himself fed His people.
In the New Testament, a widow in debt poured out her last jar of oil—and it multiplied until every vessel overflowed. Peter, unable to pay the temple tax, pulled a coin from a fish’s mouth. That’s God’s humor—He shows you He doesn’t need the system. He runs His own kingdom economy.
Even the early church, living under Rome’s iron fist, found a different way: “There was not a needy person among them. ”They shared everything, not because Caesar commanded it, but because love compelled it.
Every example proves the same point: empires give with strings attached. God gives with open hands. Empires enslave with fear; God sets free with forgiveness. Empires demand loyalty; God invites trust.
So the question tonight is simple: Who do you trust with your survival? The empire that fattens itself on your labor, or the God who multiplies your little until it becomes more than enough?
Because every stimulus check, every corporate “donation,” every government “program” comes back to you as debt, tax, or control. But every blessing of God is yes and amen—tailored for your story, not extracted for theirs.
The Roman Example: Bread and Circuses
Rome ruled the ancient world with an iron fist. Citizens were promised food distributions and gladiator games. It looked like generosity, but the true motive was pacification. If the people were fed and entertained, they would not revolt. But who paid for the “free” grain? The conquered provinces. Tax upon tax poured into Rome, feeding citizens with the blood of subject nations. What looked like compassion was actually control.
God’s way stood in stark contrast. When Elijah stood against Ahab and Jezebel, he was fed by ravens at the brook. He didn’t need Rome’s rations or Caesar’s grain ships. God fed him in the wilderness, showing His people that provision doesn’t have to come through empire systems.
The British Empire: Aid with Shackles
Fast-forward to the colonial age. Britain’s East India Company claimed to bring trade and civilization. But in India, when famine struck in the 18th and 19th centuries, grain exports to Britain continued while locals starved. Relief was rationed, not to feed the poor, but to maintain political order. Millions died under “free markets” managed by empire bureaucrats.
Contrast that with Joseph in Egypt. God gave him wisdom to store grain in the fat years so that in the lean years, Egypt and surrounding nations could survive. Joseph didn’t hoard for himself—he saved a world. That’s the difference between man’s empire and God’s economy: one exploits famine for profit, the other redeems famine for salvation.
The Great Depression: Government Programs and Hidden Cost
In the 1930s, the United States launched programs like the New Deal. Jobs were created, relief was distributed. But those funds came through new taxes, new debt, and greater central control. Banks failed, farms were foreclosed, and the Federal Reserve—created after the Titanic disaster and Jekyll Island meetings—tightened its grip. People got bread lines, but at the cost of surrendering independence to the state.
God’s people in that same era testified differently. Families prayed over empty cupboards, and neighbors would appear with baskets of food. Pastors recounted envelopes of cash left anonymously on their porch. God showed that in the darkest economy, His Kingdom economy still operates.
World War II and the “Free” GI Bill
After the war, soldiers returned to “free” education through the GI Bill. A blessing? For many, yes. But also a calculated investment. The government didn’t simply want to bless veterans—it needed an educated workforce for the industrial machine, engineers for the Cold War, and compliant taxpayers for the future. Free education wasn’t free—it was seed money for empire expansion.
Meanwhile, look at Daniel in Babylon. He didn’t receive a GI Bill. He was taken captive, trained in Babylonian schools, pressured to eat the king’s food. But because he trusted God, he and his friends thrived without compromise. They had favor, wisdom ten times greater than their peers—not because of Nebuchadnezzar’s program, but because of God’s Spirit.
The 2008 Crash and Corporate Bailouts
When banks gambled and lost in 2008, who received the real bailout? Not the homeowners. Not the working poor. It was the investment banks, the insurance giants, the corporations deemed “too big to fail.” Trillions were printed, and ordinary citizens were left with foreclosures, job losses, and evaporated retirements. Once again, empire fed itself first.
Yet God’s people have stories from that same collapse: business owners who tithed faithfully and found contracts pouring in when others folded. Families who prayed and saw debts forgiven, houses saved, and needs met in ways no government program could match. The testimonies multiplied—because when the empire shakes, the Kingdom stands firm.
The Pandemic: Stimulus with Chains
More recently, governments mailed out stimulus checks. But let’s be honest—they weren’t gifts, they were tools. The purpose wasn’t to bless households; it was to prop up consumption and keep the economy alive. And every check was borrowed money, already clawed back through inflation, higher grocery bills, and exploding rents. The poor were pacified while the powerful doubled their wealth.
And yet, in the same season, countless testimonies emerged. Believers who lost jobs but saw miraculous provision. Meals that stretched. Businesses that survived against impossible odds. God did not send stimulus checks—He sent sustenance.
The Black Nobility and Hidden Families
And at the highest levels, families sit above nations. The Orsini, Breakspear, Farnese, Rothschild, Rockefellers—their networks stretch across governments and corporations. They fund wars with one hand and peace treaties with the other. They profit off pandemics, off scarcity, off fear. Every dollar they “give” is a loan with interest. Their charities are foundations with loopholes. Their aid is another chain.
But Jesus showed another way. When five thousand sat hungry on a hillside, He didn’t tax Philip, levy Peter, or collect from the crowd. He blessed five loaves and two fish, multiplied them, and gave freely until all were filled. No strings. No taxes. No debt. That’s God’s economy—multiplication by grace, not extraction by empire.
Biblical Examples of God’s Provision
Joseph in Egypt (Genesis 41–50):
Betrayed, sold, and imprisoned—yet when Joseph humbled himself and gave Pharaoh credit to God, he was lifted up to second in command. His wisdom saved not just Egypt but the very brothers who had wronged him. God turned betrayal into salvation.
The Israelites in the Wilderness (Exodus 16):
No grocery stores, no farms, no government aid—yet manna fell every morning, quail came when they hungered for meat, and water flowed from a rock. For forty years, their clothes and sandals did not wear out. God’s provision didn’t rely on empire, it relied on His word.
Elijah and the Widow (1 Kings 17):
Elijah, in a famine, was fed first by ravens, then by a widow with nothing but a little flour and oil. As she obeyed, her jar never ran dry. God multiplied her nothing into abundance.
Elisha and the Widow’s Oil (2 Kings 4):
A woman deep in debt faced losing her children to slavery. At God’s word, she gathered jars and poured oil from her single jar until every vessel overflowed. She sold the oil, paid her debts, and lived on the rest. God gave her not just relief, but freedom.
Daniel in Babylon (Daniel 1, 6):
Captive in a foreign empire, Daniel refused the king’s food. By faith he thrived, healthier than all others, and was given wisdom ten times greater. Later, when thrown to the lions, God shut their mouths. Daniel prospered in Babylon because his trust was not in kings but in God.
Peter and the Temple Tax (Matthew 17:24–27):
When asked for money Peter didn’t have, Jesus told him to cast a line. In the mouth of a fish, he found a coin to pay the tax. God showed He can provide in ways no system could plan for.
Jesus Feeding the Multitudes (Matthew 14, 15):
With five loaves and two fish, He fed five thousand men plus women and children. Later, seven loaves fed four thousand. Not a soul left hungry. God multiplies what is surrendered into His hands.
The Early Church (Acts 4:34–35):
Under Roman occupation, with no political power, the church thrived because they shared freely. “There was not a needy person among them.” Their trust in God’s Spirit created a community that outlasted Rome’s empire.
Historical Testimonies of Provision
George Müller (1805–1898):
Müller ran orphanages in England, feeding thousands of children without ever asking for donations. He simply prayed. Time after time, food arrived at the door right when needed—bakers, milkmen, anonymous donors—always in God’s timing.
Hudson Taylor in China (1832–1905):
Taylor said, “God’s work done in God’s way will never lack God’s supply.” He lived it. Funds would arrive in the mail at the exact moment they were needed to continue mission work in China.
David Wilkerson in New York (1950s–2000s):
When he stepped out to reach gang members and drug addicts, provision came—buildings, finances, workers—all through prayer and obedience, not government programs. Times Square Church grew out of nothing but trust.
Modern Testimonies:
Countless believers today tell the same story: jobs opening when none were available, debts mysteriously forgiven, medical bills paid, meals multiplied, even envelopes of cash appearing at just the right time. God’s fingerprints are on His people’s survival stories everywhere, though rarely recorded in history books.
The Principle
Empires extract, God multiplies. Empires tax, God blesses. Empires control through fear, God frees through faith. And every act of provision looks different—because He meets people uniquely, whether through a coin in a fish, bread in the desert, oil in a jar, or ravens in the sky.
Now some of you are thinking: “If I trust God instead of government, does that mean I need to stay poor? Does that mean holiness equals suffering and scraping by?” No. That’s not the message. The truth is deeper.
Jesus said of the Pharisees, “They have their reward” (Matthew 6:2, 5, 16). What did He mean? He meant that when people give, pray, or fast for applause—for recognition, for status, for earthly gain—they already got what they wanted. Their bank account, their mansion, their influence, their reputation—that’s it. Their payday ends when the applause fades. But the children of God are promised something far greater: an eternal inheritance that no stock market, no housing crash, no empire can ever touch.
Paul called it “an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison” (2 Corinthians 4:17). That’s why we don’t measure blessing by square footage or portfolio size. We measure it by what cannot be stolen: peace, joy, eternal life, crowns laid up in heaven.
Now here’s the other side. Why do so many believers live with little? Often it is because they give little—because they trust man’s systems more than God’s. Jesus said, “Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over.” Not because giving is a transaction, but because it’s a release of trust. As long as you cling to what you have, fearing loss, you’ve made your bank account your god. But when you freely give—even when it feels like you might “lose your shirt”—you step into God’s economy, where multiplication replaces fear.
And this is not the so-called “prosperity gospel.” This is not writing a check to a preacher and expecting a sevenfold return. That’s a counterfeit. This is surrender—placing all your resources, all your possessions, all your future into God’s hands and saying: “I’ll use whatever You give me to love my neighbor.”
That’s the real focus. Loving your neighbor. Not tolerating them. Not merely coexisting. Loving them. Being there when their need is urgent. Carrying them when they stumble. Feeding them when they’re hungry. Praying when they’re sick. Offering a hand even when it’s inconvenient, even when it costs you. Because in that moment, you become the vessel of God’s provision in their life.
And here is the paradox of the Kingdom: those who release everything find they lack nothing. Those who clutch and hoard find they are always empty. Jesus said, “Whoever saves his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.” That principle applies to everything—your money, your possessions, your pride, your time. When you let it go, you discover a Kingdom storehouse that never runs dry.
So no, trusting God doesn’t mean you stay poor to be holy. It means you stop measuring wealth by what rusts and rots, and start measuring by what lasts forever.
Empires have always promised safety. Governments have always promised relief. Corporations have always promised provision. But the record of history is crystal clear: every “gift” they give is taken back with interest. Every “program” they offer is about control, not compassion. Every “charity” they brand is a marketing scheme, not true mercy. Man’s systems give to preserve themselves.
But God gives to preserve you.
When Joseph forgave his brothers, God preserved a family line. When manna fell in the desert, God preserved a nation. When a widow’s oil filled jar after jar, God preserved her sons. When Peter pulled a coin from a fish, God preserved His witness. When Jesus broke bread and fed thousands, God preserved the hungry crowd. He never asked for repayment, never tacked on interest, never handed you debt disguised as blessing.
And so tonight, I need you to hear this: trusting God doesn’t mean you must stay poor to be holy. Holiness is not misery. Holiness is freedom—freedom from the chokehold of empire, freedom from the lie that possessions define you.
The rich who flaunt their wealth already have their reward. Their applause, their mansions, their bank accounts—Jesus said, “They have their reward already.” But the child of God has a greater inheritance. Paul called it “an eternal weight of glory beyond comparison.” Heaven keeps accounts differently. Your reward is not measured by square footage or status, but by crowns of righteousness, by the joy of seeing lives you touched, by treasures laid up where moth and rust cannot destroy.
Why do so many live small, fearful, always clutching? Because they give little. Because they trust man’s system more than God’s. Jesus said, “Give, and it will be given to you.” Not as a transaction, but as a test of trust. The one who holds tightly always loses. The one who releases always receives.
And let’s be clear—this is not the false prosperity gospel that turns giving into gambling. This is not sending money to a preacher expecting a sevenfold return. No. This is the radical surrender that says: “Lord, I trust Your provision, whether it comes through oil in a jar, bread in the desert, or a stranger’s kindness. And whatever You give me, I’ll use it to love my neighbor.”
Because that is the heart of the Kingdom. Not tolerating your neighbor. Not putting up with them. Loving them. Loving them in action, not just in words. Being present when their need is real. Offering a hand when it is inconvenient. Sacrificing when it costs you. That is where Heaven’s economy flows.
And here is the paradox: when you live that way, you will find you never lack. When you give freely, you will see multiplication. When you stop measuring life by possessions, you will discover you have more than the richest kings.
So I ask you one last time tonight: will you put your trust in the empires of this world, or in the God who multiplies loaves and fish? Will you tie yourself to corporations and governments who only give with strings, or to a Kingdom that gives freely with love?
Empires rise and fall. Their banks fail, their armies crumble, their rulers turn to dust. But the Kingdom of God endures forever.
Choose the Kingdom. Trust God. Love your neighbor. And watch Heaven open the windows of provision that no empire can shut.
Bibliography
Congressional Budget Office. The 2024 Long-Term Budget Outlook. Washington, DC: CBO, 2024.
Glaeser, Edward, et al. “The Rise of Donor-Advised Funds: Should We Worry?” National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series, 2021.
Internal Revenue Service. Publication 526: Charitable Contributions. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of the Treasury, 2023.
Miller, Kelly. Famine in India: The British Empire and Colonial Policy. London: Routledge, 1982.
Mueller, George. Autobiography of George Müller. London: J. Nisbet & Co., 1905.
Piketty, Thomas. Capital and Ideology. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2020.
U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division. Investigation of the Ferguson Police Department. Washington, DC: DOJ, 2015.
Zucman, Gabriel. The Hidden Wealth of Nations: The Scourge of Tax Havens. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2015.
Endnotes
- IRS clarifies that register donations are deductible by the donor, not the store. See IRS Publication 526: Charitable Contributions, 2023.
- On donor-advised funds and delayed charitable distribution, see Edward Glaeser et al., “The Rise of Donor-Advised Funds,” NBER Working Paper, 2021.
- CBO notes that pandemic stimulus increased federal debt from ~79% to ~97% of GDP in three years. See The 2024 Long-Term Budget Outlook, CBO.
- On Rome’s bread and circuses policy, see Thomas Piketty, Capital and Ideology (2020), ch. 3.
- On India’s colonial famines, see Kelly Miller, Famine in India (1982).
- Ferguson DOJ report documented fines and fees shaping policing. See Investigation of the Ferguson Police Department, U.S. DOJ, 2015.
- Civil asset forfeiture practices described in Gabriel Zucman, The Hidden Wealth of Nations (2015).
- On tax avoidance structures by corporations, see Piketty, Capital and Ideology; also Zucman, Hidden Wealth.
- On abusive “unincorporated business trust” schemes, see IRS enforcement actions in the early 2000s.
- George Müller’s orphanages and provision by prayer detailed in Autobiography of George Müller, 1905.
- For Hudson Taylor’s provision testimonies, see biographies in the China Inland Mission archives.
- For David Wilkerson’s New York ministry and provision, see The Cross and the Switchblade (1963).