This is my third consecutive post on the subject of stewardship, or giving. I am not being repetitious without a purpose, though. I have collected quaint sayings, interesting stories, and tidbits over the past 60 years that I want to share and pass on to whomever may be able to use some of them.
At age 83, and with cancer in my body, I do not know how long I will be able to post such blogs. (This is # 593.) So, for what it’s worth, here are some stories and quotes that maybe a younger pastor or teacher can file for future use in a lesson or message:
- “A little church was having a homecoming service to which ex-members who had moved away were invited. One of the former members had become a millionaire. When asked to speak, the wealthy man recounted his childhood experience. He had earned his first silver dollar, which he decided to keep forever. ‘But when a visiting missionary preached about the urgent need for funds in his mission work, and the offering basket was passed, a great struggle took place within me.’ As a result, the wealthy man said, ‘I put my treasured silver dollar in the basket. I am convinced that the reason God has blessed me richly is that when I was a boy I gave God everything I possessed.’ The congregation was spellbound by the multimillionaire’s tremendous statement—until an elderly little man seated in the front row rose and said, ‘Brother, I dare you to do it again.’” (copied)
- A preacher was told that preaching on giving would kill his church, to which he replied, “I’d like to find a church killed by the pastor preaching on giving; I’d stand on the roof and shout, ‘Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord.’” (copied)
- “I have never, as a pastor, known a really healthy, fruitful Christian who was a stingy person. The liberal soul shall be made fat.” (T. T. Shields in a message “How to Become Rich” as quoted in the Gospel Witness, 2/1/79)
- Dr. R.V. Clearwaters was for more than 40 years pastor of the Fourth Baptist Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and founder and president of Central Baptist Theological Seminary, from which I graduated in 1969. In 1982, when Dr. Clearwaters was a guest for dinner in our home, he told our son, Theo, 12 years old at that time, how he became a tither. It was in the 20s, when he was working his way through school, making $6 a week busing tables. His room, board, and tuition was $8.50. He was on the 7th floor of a building and had just gotten onto the elevator with another man. On the way down, Dr. Clearwaters asked him if he were a tither; the man said, “No, I believe in it, but I’m trying to get on my feet—I believe it’s scriptural but have not gotten to it just yet.” As they got off the elevator, Dr. Clearwaters extended his hand to the man to thank him. “For what?” he asked. Dr. Clearwaters said, “Why for making a tither out of me from the 7th floor to the 1st.” The man said, “A tither?” To which Dr. Clearwaters replied: “Yes, if you believe you should but aren’t—because you’re not on your feet—then I want to. You’re not tithing and obviously not on your feet; if that’s what not tithing will do for you, I’ll start now.” So he did—and had been a tither at that time for 60 years! (P.S. For those who have read this and were at one time acquainted with “the Doc” you will readily agree, I am sure, that this was vintage R. V. Clearwaters!)
- “Our gifts from God are intended for uses which hallow His name.” (Paul Anderson)
- A merchant was asked to contribute to a certain piece of church work. He gladly wrote out a check for $250 and gave it to the solicitor. At that moment, a cablegram arrived. The merchant read it and looked troubled. “This cablegram,” he said, “tells me that one of my ships has been wrecked and the cargo lost. That makes a difference in my business. I’ll have to write another check.” The solicitor thought he understood and handed back the check for $250. The merchant wrote out another and gave it to him. When the solicitor read it, he was utterly amazed; it was for $1,000. “Haven’t you made a mistake?” he asked. “No,” said the merchant. “I haven’t made a mistake.” Then he added, “To me, that cablegram was a message from my Father in Heaven. It read, ‘Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth…but lay up for yourselves treasures in Heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal.’” (Matt. 6:19,20)
Ok, that’ll do it for now. I have more to share on the subject—maybe at some later date. I hope you have enjoyed reading these “tidbits!”
“Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.” (II Cor. 9:7)
YOU and GOD 