Am I A Spiritual Bludger?
Is there a thing of being too needy for God? + support Gloriavale Leavers Charity
Hey fellow travellers,
Sometimes I feel like I am bludging1 off God.
It may sound silly to some but last night while praying, I felt like a bludger2. There seems to be a continual neediness on my part. A continual request for emotional support.
This might just be my cultural upbringing in New Zealand, but we were taught to be independent and self reliant.
Do not bludge of society!
Work and support your own needs!
Admittedly I have been going through a bit of a tough period emotionally in the past year and especially over the past couple of weeks but it I was struck last night of my emotional neediness and wondered whether God minded.
Then a series of questions swirled around in my mind while I was trying to sleeping…
Is this feeling of bludging off God, the enemy accusing me while I am vulnerable?
When they (God, Jesus, Spirit) created humans, did they expect for us to be independent and emotionally strong beings?
What was their (God, Jesus, Spirit) intent from the beginning in regards to our neediness?
Is it okay to keep asking for help from God?…like every day.
I guess part of my English culture is the obligation to be stoic3. This stoicism was perfectly shown during World War II when millions of posters were printed to booster the British resolve and maintain morale. The now famous “Keep Calm and Carry On” poster was one such poster which actually wasn’t distributed during the war but was kept in storage and was only found in 2000.
But sometimes we aren’t calm and we can’t carry on.
Sometimes we just need some kind words and a hug.
I get the impression while reading the gospels that Jesus was like that for the needy.
He touched the unclean.
He invited small children to climb up on his lap.
He didn’t mind when a certain immoral woman (yes that is how NLT version describes her in Luke 7) knelt behind him at his feet, weeping. Her tears fell on his feet and she wiped them off with her hair. Then she kept kissing his feet and putting perfume on them.
Jesus told a touching story of a father who had lost his youngest son to the world. He had given him everything and then some but the son wanted to live his own life and left with his inheritance. How rude! How shameful!
But when the son reached the pit of earthly hell, realised his neediness and returned to the father - what joy! what embrace! what love!
The Return of the Prodigal painting by Rembrandt4
Jesus wanted me to know something. That the father’s love never ends. He is always there to love on me, some more.
Jesus invites me to lay down the heavy burdens I’m carrying.
“If you are tired from carrying heavy burdens, come to me and I will give you rest. Take the yoke I will give you. Put it on your shoulders and learn from me. I am gentle and humble and you will find rest. This yoke is easy to bear and this burden is light.”
CEV Matthew 11:28-30
This sounds like complete dependence on Jesus.
And that is okay.
The invitation is clear…chuck off my heavy burden and become super connected to Jesus.
Yoked together.
He moves, I move.
He stops, I stop.
I am not removing one heavy burden for another.
No. Jesus’ yoking is gentle.
It’s restful.
It’s light.
It’s natural.
It’s like breathing.
Why do I complicate things?
It’s okay to bludge off God.
It’s okay to ask for comfort everyday, every hour if need be.
It’s okay to rest. Yes, to rest!
Thank you Jesus for your touch.
Thank you Father for your love.
Thank you Spirit for your presence.
Gloriavale Leavers Support Trust
I would like to bring my readers attention to a pressing need that we can all help with.
We have in New Zealand a cult-like ‘Christian’ community called Gloriavale where around 600 people live in a commune environment on the west coast of the south island.
A documentary has recently been aired on the Gloriavale community. You can watch a trailer here:
What was super concerning for me was the report of five Gloriavale girls who were sent to India to assist in establishing a new community. They were given in marriage to Indian men and between them now have 35 children. The women do not have access to their passports and the children do not have birth certificates. The oldest children are now 13 and the plan is to begin to marry them to each other.
From the documentary footage this scenario sounds like sex trafficking at it’s worst. It showed a shell of a woman barely existing in squalor like conditions. No doors on their bedrooms and on the only outside toilet. An inadequate education for the children - they couldn’t read or write. No hope of leaving. They are trapped.5
The Gloriavale Leavers Support Trust does an awesome job of supporting those escaping from Gloriavale. They help them to leave and provide them with a home full of furniture and everything they need to start a new life on the outside. Those leaving have no idea about living in society. Some leave with their entire family and the need is huge to find homes and goods for their large families.
The Gloriavale women especially need our help. Some are being sexually abused and most of them are unpaid slaves working insane hours in the kitchen and laundry. They have no voice and their purpose is to work and bear children.
We can help by supporting the wonderful and much needed work that the Gloriavale Leaver Support Trust does. They have a givealittle page where we can donate to help them provide support to those who are escaping the cult and need to set up a new life.
Can I ask you to join me in supporting this work? These are our Christian brothers and sisters who have been sold a lie and have been abused by their leaders. Here is the link for the give a little page - https://givealittle.co.nz/cause/after-gloriavale-escape-appeal
Thank you for allowing me to share this concerning story with you.
As always I love to hear how you are experiencing God and his love… Please share in the comments.
This word is probably particular to Australia, New Zealand and the UK. To bludge means to shirk responsibility and live off the efforts of others. A Bludger has come to be known as a person who is super needy and instead of working they are receiving government support by way of a social welfare benefit. Bludging is the act of relying on someone else to pay your way.
see above.
A stoic is a person who can endure paid or hardship without showing their feelings or complaining.
You answered it yourself 💗❤️
I think our society creates the problem, even our churches create the problem.... So that we don't seek help from God nor others.
We need to be alert to promptings of Holy Spirit to get help too 💜 sometimes we need wise godly support from other christians.