The Unlikely Giver

Bill’s one goal was to become a millionaire.

He lived a very simple life, forswearing the usual creature comforts in order to protect his rising net worth. He owned a humble home and lived on an everyday street. He drove an old car and never visited a doctor, preferring to save the money he would have spent on doctor’s visits. Bill didn’t have a cell phone.

In fact, he didn’t have a phone of any kind.

When a visit to the doctor seemed unavoidable, Bill could not have expected the news he received. He had cancer. His doctor advised Bill to go home and put his affairs in order. He did not have long to live. But what would become of Bill’s money? He wasn’t married, had no children, and his extended family hadn’t played any part in his life. It was then that he remembered: some years ago, members of a local church had come to his home asking for donations to support the church’s humanitarian work.

Bill was not a member of any church, but he was impressed by the sincerity of the people who knocked on his door and by the work their church was doing to help others. He went to a drawer and found papers left for him by the people from the church. The papers explained the humanitarian work and listed several projects.

That’s what I should do with my money, Bill thought to himself. He did a little detective work, found a phone number (and a phone), and called the church’s state headquarters. When a representative from the church came to his home, Bill got straight to the point. He was dying, he wanted his money to be used for good, and he wanted to leave 100 percent of it to the church. The auction to dispose of Bill’s possessions raised just short of a million dollars. The church members who visited Bill’s home during several Ingathering campaigns could never have known that their visits would lead to such generosity to the church and the advancement of God’s kingdom.