Letters From Grandpa #538

• LETTERS FROM GRANDPA
• 538

Dearest grandchild,

Today’s letter will be about “contributing to the needs of others”. This is one of seven spiritual gifts listed in Romans 12:3-8. Romans 12:6 points out “We have different gifts according to the grace given to us.” The word “gift” in this verse is “charisma” from which we get the word “charismatic”. It comes from the word “charis” which means “grace”. The other six “gifts” listed in this passage are: prophesying, serving, teaching, encouraging, leadership, and mercy.

Apparently God gives all believers a spiritual gift, and one of these gifts is making money. “But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth.” (Deut. 8:18) It is dangerous to “want” to get rich, however, for those who “want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” (1 Timothy 6:9-10)

There are some, however, who love God more than they love money. People like this may be gifted to make money and they find great joy in contributing to the needs of others. Paul told Timothy: “Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.” (1 Timothy 6:17-19)

One such godly “rich” man was the late Jess Hoover. He was a special friend to our family and his reality company sold us our house in 1965. Jess gave his testimony at our church and publicly confessed that as a real estate broker he was a failure until he completely surrendered to Jesus Christ. Just after making this life changing commitment he believes that God helped him sell six houses in only three days. Jess believed that God gave him the ability to make money! He believed it was his life altering commitment to Christ that made the difference. In addition to selling real estate he felt led to build a bottling plant and sell milk cheaper than his competitors. Other business ventures also turned profitable. Jess was a big believer in tithing and challenged everyone in our church to tithe for one full year. He then promised that if God did pour out a blessing on them he would personally reimburse them for the money they had given. (See Malachi 3:8-12)

Jess was not seeking to get rich, nor did he trust in his riches. He was seeking to love God with all of his heart, mind, soul, and strength. He was seeking to use his spiritual gift to contribute to the needs of others. For example, when at farmer named Lawrence Rose gave 10 acres for a Christian Camp, Jess took six months off from his work to raise money for the camp. As a result of his effort enough money was raised to provide for dormitories, tennis courts, ball fields, swimming pools, etc. This beautiful camp is a part of his lasting legacy in contributing to the needs of others. All of our children, and thousands of others, attended this camp. This camp is called CYOKAMO which stands for the Christian Youth of Kansas, Arkansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma. Miraculously, Jess said that he actually made more money during those six months than he had made the year before.

Jess definitely did not trust in is money. When his son died of Leukemia he reminded me that if you have a problem that can be solved with money it is not a very serious problem!

As you may know, God blessed me with an hour long radio program called Family Forum. We were on the air an hour each day, five days a week for 22 years over KOBC in Joplin. One of the many famous people interviewed was the late Roy LaTourneau. His father, R. G. LaTourneau was a multi- millionaire who credited God for his journey from rags to riches. Because of his devotion to Christ he chose to live on 10% of his money and give 90% away. His godly family is famous for “contributing to the needs of others”.

Tim Valentine was also a Christian multi-millionaire who lived on 10% and gave 90% to God. One of his airplanes was having a new engine installed at Mizzou Aviation in Joplin. When they needed someone to fly over to his ranch in Kansas and pick him up, I volunteered to do so. I was immediately impressed by Tim’s dedication to Christ. On a business trip to China, for example, he was arrested for preaching. When the local police found out how much business he did in China, however, they told him he could preach about Jesus all that he wanted to. Tim was the CEO of Jeremiah 29:11 Inc. Sadly, he died in a tragic plane crash at Ponca City, Oklahoma in August of 2018.

The church is Jerusalem was so generous that the “needs” of all believers were met. The Scriptures report “that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need.” (Acts 4:34-35) Mary, the mother of John Mark, however did not sell her house for she already used it to glorify God. It was here that the believers met for prayer (Acts 12:12-17). It is also quite probable that it was also in her house that Jesus ate the Last Supper and where 120 disciples gathered before Pentecost (Acts 1:13-14).

Yes! There are seven spiritual gifts listed in Romans 12. If God has given you the gift of contributing to the needs of others, then do it generously! In this way you will not only meet the needs of others, but will also be laying up treasure in heaven (Matthew 5:19-21).

I love you,

Grandpa Boyce