|
APPENDIX
#11 — “We
Learn to be Free to Give!" A good friend and
mentor who was responsible for raising large sums of money for the church
told me about an experience he had several years ago.
He approached a retired couple who were reputed to have some
wealth. He planned to provide
financial advice and solicit a gift from them.
The couple agreed to meet with him, but they warned him beforehand
that they were not wealthy. One morning, my friend
sat with the couple around the dining room table in their farmhouse and
talked about assets and investments and wise use of what they had
accumulated. As the
conversation went on, the pair recalled more and more investments — a
small piece of land here, and investment in a grain elevator there, a loan
due to them in a third place — each of which my friend duly noted on his
yellow legal pad. Initially, the couple
had admitted to wealth of nearly a half million dollars. Now as the morning wore on and the sums were added, the
totals passed $700,000, $800,000 and finally even $900,000. Suddenly, the lady of the house slammed down her notebook,
pushed back her chair and marched off to the kitchen.
There was strained
silence at the dining room table. My
friend and the man of the house made small talk while the sounds of cups
and saucers and the aroma of brewing coffee emanated from the kitchen. When she returned with
sweet rolls and coffee, the husband gently asked his wife if she was
troubled by something. She
replied, “Indeed I am. I
don’t like this at all. If
we keep on like this, the next thing you know is that we’re going to be
millionaires! And, we are not
that kind of people! |