From the Pastor’s Desk (252)
As you know, I preached last Sunday about the difference between the little children and the rich young man. I will finish the message this Sunday with Part 2. The key difference between the two groups of people is trusting in God. The little children trust in God (and in Jesus) but the rich young man and those who are like him trust not in God but in something else. In the rich young man’s case, it was his money. It’s a trust issue.
And if we truly trust in God (and so in Jesus and his words), then sooner or later, obedient action will follow. Often people get confused between faith and works and they pit one against the other. But it is always through faith/trust that we get saved. However, that faith/trust that saves us always gets expressed through works.
I’ve heard about Chuck Feeney in the past as a rich person who just freely gave his money away to help people. But yesterday, through Pastor Ben Kong, who is a good friend of mine, I was made aware of an article about him. When I read the article about Chuck, I was blown away. His motto in life from when he turned about 50 was, “Giving while Living.” Some affluent people talk about Giving Pledge or make their will to pass their wealth down to their own family. But Chuck wanted to give away everything he had while he was living so that he will know where his money went in helping people. As of now, he has given away all that he had which was 8 billion dollars. He is left with 2 million dollars for him and his wife to live off on. He doesn’t own a house or car. He wears a very old Casio electronic watch and uses a plastic bag to carry things.
He has a Catholic background. So, I don’t really know his biblical stance. But that’s not the point. If he has a personal relationship with Christ, then he is an inspiration and encouragement to all of us. However, if he doesn’t know Christ personally but still lives like this, then he is a challenge and indictment to all of us who claim to know and have experienced the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ who for our sake became poor so that through his poverty we may become rich (2 Cor. 8:9) unless we too live a generous life like Chuck but in a smaller scale.
I pray that all of you here at New Life will become successful and prosperous in all that you do whatever that may be as long as your occupation is not blatantly against the will of God. But I also pray that you will not leave your wealth and assets behind just to your children when you die which often causes much friction between them, or to trustees hoping that they would use the money you left behind according to how you willed it. Instead, I pray that you will experience the joy and benefit of giving your money away while you are still living so that you could see where your money is going and what impact it is making in helping people. We are made by God to work hard and also to experience and enjoy the fruit of our labor. Seeing our money making a positive impact in people’s lives is one of the fruits of our labor that we are entitled to experience.
I don’t know if there ever will be a billionaire in New Life. But honestly, I would not mind having one who is totally committed to God and His kingdom cause. What I know for certain is that we have a good number of you who are multimillionaires.
Do your best to provide for your children’s education possibly up to when they finish college. That’s what I did. In the olden days, fathers passed down tracts of land to their children so that they can start out their lives with something. These days, we who are living in the city don’t have land to pass down to our children. But we can help them obtain college degrees so that they can make a living using that.
Do your best to prepare for your retirement. But don’t overdo it. You can only travel so much when you are old. You can only eat so much. You just need a vehicle that has AC that will get you from one place to another. And you need just enough space for you and your spouse and possibly a little extra for the times when your children will visit you with their children when you retire. You don’t need a mansion when you are old.
But having done these obvious things, I would like to see many if not all members of New Life giving away their assets while living just like Chuck Feeney has done. He truly enjoyed giving his wealth away to help people. Now, he is a happy old man and ready to pass away from this world that he helped to be a little better place to live for many. This is a beautiful way to live and end one’s life.
Please watch this video.
And have a great house church tonight either via zoom or in-person.
Pastor Eric
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