“Therefore I love Thy commandments above gold; yea, above fine gold” (Psalm 119:127).
It was a day that Pastor Kenward would never forget. The elderly lady was a regular listener to the radio ministry of the church which he pastored. “You know that I am the sole survivor of my family. There are no relatives, and I want to leave all my money to you,” she said. “I have hundreds of thousands of dollars and not enough banks to keep it all. I want you to have it,” she said with a resolve in her voice. For a split second he thought of everything he could do with that amount of money. But he quickly resisted that thought. You see, several scandals were breaking in his area of unscrupulous pastors taking advantage of elderly people. Immediately he thought of “I love Thy commandments above gold: yea, above fine gold.” It took quite a conversation for her to be content to allow him to help her invest her wealth in the Lord’s work. She understood why he couldn’t personally profit with her money. Every believer needs to be wise in the way they view, use, invest, and even refuse money as they walk with the Lord.
For today: Many ministries profited from her generosity. Better to lose hundreds of thousands of dollars than to lose his reputation. Best of all was his wife whispering to him, “I’m proud of you.” How will all this affect you today?