Giving

Hattie May Wiatt, a six-year-old girl, lived near Grace Baptist Church in Philadelphia, USA. The Sunday school was very crowded. Russell H. Conwell, the minister, told her that one day they would have buildings big enough to allow everyone to attend. She said, ‘I hope you will. It is so crowded I am afraid to go there alone.’ He replied, ‘When we get the money we will construct one large enough to get all the children in.’

Two years later, in 1886, Hattie May died. After the funeral Hattie’s mother gave the minister a little bag they had found under their daughter’s pillow containing 57 cents in change that she had saved up. Alongside it was a note in her handwriting: ‘To help build bigger so that more children can go to Sunday school.’

The minister changed all the money into pennies and offered each one for sale. He received $250 – and 54 of the cents were given back. The $250 was itself changed into pennies and sold by the newly formed ‘Wiatt Mite Society’. In this way, her 57 cents kept on multiplying.

Twenty-six years later, in a talk entitled, ‘The history of the 57 cents’, the minister explained the results of her 57-cent donation: a church with a membership of over 5,600 people, a hospital where tens of thousands of people had been treated, 80,000 young people going through university, 2,000 people going out to preach the gospel – all this happened ‘because Hattie May Wiatt invested her 57 cents’.

The theme of multiplication runs throughout the Bible. What cannot be achieved by addition, God does by multiplication. You reap what you sow, only many times more. What you give to the Lord, he multiplies.

Nicky Gumbel

Story related by Nicky Gumbel, Bible in One Year 2020, day 55 – Source: Hattie May Wiatt illustration from Sermon by Russell H Conwell ‘The History of Fifty-Seven Cents’, Sunday morning, December 1, 1912.

(Below is a prayer found on the inside of a church in south west London to help the church members remember what is expected of us by Christ):

“Almighty God our Heavenly Father, by your grace in Jesus Christ and in the power of your Holy Spirit, please help me to be prayerfully holy and joyfully obedient to your word and so, as a member of my church, in submission to its leadership, to:

believe and proclaim the gospel that Christ is my loving Saviour and living Lord;

attend regularly my Sunday congregation and appropriate mid-week small group;

contribute my prayer, time and talents to our church life and outreach;

and give sacrificially for the gospel ministry of our church and its mission partners,

in the name of Jesus Christ my Lord. Amen.”

Explore Bible notes, 29/11/2016

A pastor approached a local farmer on the subject of giving to the church. “If you had £500 and I asked you to give half of it to the Lord, would you do it?” asked the pastor. “Sure, I would,” answered the farmer. “And if you owned two head of cattle and I asked you to give one of them to the Lord, would you do it?” asked the pastor again. “Yes, I would!” came the farmer’s determined response. “And if you had two pigs, would you also give one of them to the Lord?” The farmer then looked rather indignant and replied, “Now hang on a minute, Pastor. That’s not fair! You know perfectly well that I have two pigs.”

Giving that keeps on giving: In 1784 Benjamin Franklin wrote the following letter to a man names Benjamin Webb:

“Dear Sir: Your situation grieves me and I send you herewith a banknote for 10 louis d’or [a former French currency]. I do not pretend to give you such a sum; I only lend it to you. When you shall return to your country, you cannot fail of getting into some business that will in time enable you to pay all your debts. In that case, when you meet with another honest man in similar distress, you must pay me by lending the sum to him, enjoining him to discharge the debt by a like operation when he shall be able and shall meet with such another opportunity.

I hope it may thus go through many hands before it meets with a knave that will stop its progress. This is a trick of mine for doing a deal of good with a little money. I am not rich enough to afford much in good works, and so I am obliged to be cunning and make the most of a little.

With best wishes for your future prosperity,

I am, dear sir, you most obedient servant. B. Franklin.”

Source: The Best of Bits & Pieces, 1994, New Jersey: The Economics Press, p.78-80

Upon the arrival of their firstborn son, an ancient king and queen held a banquet to celebrate the momentous and happy event. The elated king and queen invited all the gentry and important people of the land to a great feast at the palace, in honour of the new prince.

Now, as was the custom in those days, whenever a royal son and new heir to the throne was born, the guests would present the child with some kind of golden vessel, as a gift to symbolise prosperity and long life.

Well some of the guests were generous in their giving and they brought along golden jugs and plates and bowls; others were less generous and they brought along golden cups and goblets: still others came who gave grudgingly; and they brought along golden egg cups and even thimbles.

When all of the guests bearing their gifts gathered before the throne, the king made a special announcement: Instead of offering their gifts to his son, the new heir, the king decreed that by way of celebration each guest should take his golden vessel into the royal treasury and fill it to the brim with such diamonds, emeralds, rubies, sapphires and other precious stones as each vessel would carry.

And the moral of this little tale is found in the scriptures: “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” (Luke 6:38)

Years ago, in America, a young lad from a very poor home went to work for a company in New York. His devout mother told him that for every dollar he earned he ought to give 10cents to the church or to charity. He worked hard and as the firm expanded he climbed the ladder of success until he became a partner and then the sole owner of the business. He continued to give away a tenth of his income… As he grew rich he was able to give away two tenths, then four tenths, then half his income. Eventually, having educated his family and making proper provision for them, he was able to live on the interest of his wealth and gave everything else to worthy causes. We may well see the man’s name when we go into our bathroom. He was William Colgate, the manufacturer of soaps and toothpaste.

Wesley Harris

Source: Wesley Harris, 1998, Success is in Giving, Victoria, Australia: Wrightbooks, p.82

Dethroning the idol of money: Let’s be honest: For most of us materialism is God’s main rival. But it is possible to get increasingly free of it. Author John Ortberg writes: ‘Sometimes when I am speaking, I try a little exercise in dethroning the idol. I ask people to take out their wallet… It looks like a piece of leather but it’s really the temple of the 21st century. Most people in our day believe that their ability to experience happiness is directly associated with the contents of this little container. This is where the god Mammon lives. We give this little piece of leather the power to make us feel secure, successful, and valuable. It’s very hard for us to surrender control of this little piece of leather. The real issue: Who’s in charge? Are you holding it, or is it holding you? So as a little baby step of surrender, I ask people to hand it over to the person next to them. At this point the attention level in the room goes way up. Then I announce that we are going to take an offering. I encourage people to give with the extravagant generosity they have always wanted to exhibit. Wallets fly back to their original owners fast at this point. Then I invite them to declare today, ‘Enough Day’. What I now have – my home, my job, my possessions, my family, my lifestyle – is enough. I will seek another and better kind of wealth than terminal acquisition.’ Then he tells the audience, ‘Circle today on your calendar. From this day on, your race with the Joneses is over. The Joneses win, but so do you!’

Source: quoted in The UCB Word For Today , 23/12/2009

Martin of Tours (AD 316–397) was Bishop of Tours, France, from AD 371. One very cold night, riding on horseback, he passed a beggar. Martin got off his horse, tore his robe in two and gave half of it to the beggar. That night, Martin had a dream in which he saw Jesus wearing the robe that had been torn in two on his shoulders. When asked where it had come from, Jesus replied, ‘My servant Martin gave it to me.’ Jesus said, “And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who is my disciple, truly I tell you, that person will certainly not lose their reward.” (Matthew 10:42)

Source: Nicky Gumbel, Bible in One Year – Alpha