As long as I live, I will never appeal for money for the mission of God in this world. This is a degradation of God and of ourselves, which has pauperized us in every way over the centuries. God has no need, and if the mission is God's, then we do not ask for help to give God a boost; therefore we do not appeal for funds. We allow people to take a share in God's work, and this is a very different thing. --Stephen F. Bayne, Jr. (1908-1974)

Perhaps this man's circumstances, probably in a denominational setting, made an appeal for funds a carnal thing. Or he may be reacting against a practice common in his circles where appeals were made on improper bases. (I myself have heard appeals that sounded as if God's hands would be tied unless people at that moment helped that particular work.)

But Paul wrote Romans exactly as an "appeal for funds," or rather, as a means of requesting their help to send him to Spain. So let's be sure we're not more spiritual than the apostle.

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