Money

A man on vacation was strolling along outside his hotel. Suddenly, he was attracted by the screams of a woman kneeling in front of a child. The man knew enough to determine that the child had swallowed a coin. Seizing the child by the heels, the man held him up, gave him a few shakes, and a quarter dropped to the sidewalk. “Oh, thank you sir!” cried the woman. “You seemed to know just how to get it out of him. Are you a doctor?”

“No, ma’am,” replied the man. “I’m with the Internal Revenue Service.”

“Researchers have found almost no correlation between income levels and happiness. Between 1957 and 1990 income levels in the U.S. doubled. Yet at the same period, people’s levels of happiness did not increase. In fact, reports of depression actually increased tenfold. Incidence of divorce, suicide, alcoholism and drug abuse also rose dramatically.”

Source: The Power of Full Engagement, Jim Loehr

A woman returned home from a holiday shopping spree with her arms loaded with packages. Her husband met her at the door and said, “What did you buy? With prices as high as they are, I’ll bet you spent a fortune. I hate to think what has happened to our nest egg.”

“I’ll tell you what happened to our nest egg,” his wife said defensively as she began to put her packages on the dining room table. “The old hen got tired of sitting on it.”

Source: Unknown

During the early days of northern Ontario’s gold rush Sandy McIntyre found what is now the famous mine bearing his name. He sold out for $25 in order to buy some liquor. Years later he still passed his time crying in beverage rooms, while the mine he discovered produced gold worth 230 million dollars.

Source: Open the Book, Lucian T. Durso

Warren Buffet is one of the greatest investors in our day. In June 2005, someone bought a lunch with him for $351,100. If there was an entrance fee to Heaven no one would get there.

Source: Bloomberg Businessweek, June 8, 2006

If you are looking for an excuse, the devil has plenty of reasons for you to keep the tithe:

W.A. Criswell told about an ambitious young man who told his pastor he’d promised God a tithe of his income. They prayed for God to bless his career. At that time he was making $40.00 per week and tithing $4.00. In a few years his income increased, and he was tithing $500.00 per week. He called on the pastor to see if he could be released from his tithing promise for it was too costly now. The pastor replied, “I don’t see how you can be released from your promise, but we can ask God to reduce your income to $40.00 a week, then you’d have no problem tithing $4.00.”

The story is told of a rich industrialist who was disturbed to find a fisherman sitting lazily beside his boat. “Why aren’t you out there fishing?” he asked.

“Because I’ve caught enough fish for today,” said the fisherman.

“Why don’t you catch more fish than you need?” the rich man asked.

“‘What would I do with them?”

The story is told about a clever salesman who closed hundreds of sales with this line: “Let me show you something several of your neighbors said you couldn’t afford.”

Source: Unknown

The last paragraph of Patrick Henry’s will says, “I have now disposed of all my property for my family; there is one thing more I wish I could give them, and that is the Christian religion. If they had this, and I had not given them one shilling, they would be rich, and if they have not that, and I had given them all the world, they would be poor.”

Brother Kuykendal was a pastor in Texas when H. Z. Duke, founder of Duke and Ayers Nickel Stores, asked him if he believed in tithing to which he replied that he did. Mr. Duke then asked him if he practiced tithing. He answered, “No, I do not. I believe in tithing, but I cannot practice it. You see, I have thirteen children at home. Every meal fifteen of us sit down at the table. I receive only $125 a month, $1500 a year, as salary. I have to maintain my own horse and buggy for constant traveling.

“I have heard people say that they will not sign any pledge—not even to give a certain amount of money—because they might not be able to fulfill it. May I say to you, if you buy a house, or anything on which you are to make payments, they are certainly going to make you sign on the dotted line. I don’t know why people can sign up for everything else in life, but they are afraid to sign up with God. My friend, if you mean it, sign up with Him. Oh, how many folk have failed Him, but He is gracious. If we mean business with Him, He means business with us.”—J. Vernon McGee

Many people believe that they would be more generous if they had more money. According to Forbes there were 946 billionaires in 2007 and they gave an average of 1.2% of their income to charitable causes. Be generous with whatever amount of money God has entrusted to you.

Source: Leadership Magazine, Fall 2007

Two friends met each other on the street one day. One looked forlorn, almost on the verge of tears. His friend asked, “What has the world done to you, my old friend?” The sad fellow said, “Let me tell you: three weeks ago, my uncle died and left me forty thousand dollars.”

“That’s a lot of money.”

“But you see, two weeks ago, a cousin I never even knew died, and left me eighty-five thousand dollars, free and clear.”

“Sounds to me that you’ve been very blessed.”

Blake Seybolt delivered pizzas to help with his college expenses. Once a seven-year-old boy came to the door to pay for the pizzas carrying a check in one hand and two one-dollar bills in the other. The boy pocketed the bills and presented the check to Blake which was in the exact amount of the bill. Blake asked, “Could that have been the tip?”

The boy responded, “Yep, not bad for just a walk from the living room and back.”

Sometimes Christians act that way with the money that God wants them to give to others.

There was a man who had worked all his life and saved much money, but he was a real miser. Just before he died he asked his wife to put all his money in the casket with him when he was buried. Being the good wife that she was, she promised to do so.

After his funeral was over, just before the casket was sealed his wife put a white envelope into the casket and turned away.

Henry Crowell contracted Tuberculosis as a boy. After Hearing D. L. Moody preach, he prayed, “I can’t be a preacher, but I can be a good business man. God, if You will let me make money, I will use it in Your service.” He later started the Quaker Oats company and consistently gave 60-70% of his income to the Lord’s work.

Source: The One Year Book of Devotions for Men on the Go, Stephen Arterburn, Pam and Bill Farrel

Jack Whittaker won a $113 million jackpot (after taxes) in 2002. Just two years later he had been arrested twice for drunk driving and ordered to go to Alcoholics Anonymous. His wife, Jewell, said, “I wish I would have torn the ticket up.”

Source: Fox News, 11/4/2004

A pastor one made the following announcement to his church: “I have good news and bad news. The good news is, we have enough money to pay for our new building program. The bad news is, it is still out there in your pockets.”

Source: Unknown

On the Sunday that a church was supposed to make their giving commitments, the organist fell sick so a substitute was brought in. The pastor gave her a schedule of the service and asked her to think of something to play during the commitment time. At the scheduled time in the service, the pastor said, “I want anyone who is committing $1,000 to the building fund to stand up.” The organist immediately began playing the “Star Spangled Banner.” And that is how the substitute organist became the regular organist.

Source: Unknown