I worked alongside Kevin for a little over a year, back in 1980. He had been to a bible college, like me. He had dreams of getting into some kind of full time ministry, like I did. We were around the same age, and we became pretty good friends during that year.
I came to know him well enough that I knew he didn't handle money very well. He always seemed to be struggling to keep up with his bills. He didn't understand how checking accounts worked, not really. He sometimes expressed frustration because the bank didn't always pay off on checks in the same order he had written them.
Shortly after Thanksgiving in 1980, Kevin asked if I could help him out. He just need a small loan. 300 dollars would do. He had a bill he needed to pay, and he was short $300.
I wasn't exactly rolling in money myself, but I told him I would help him out. Kevin insisted this would be a loan, that he would pay me back. He even said he would pay interest on the loan. Five per cent.
I shrugged and said, okay. Kevin smiled and said he'd have the money to pay me back within a month.
About a month later I overheard Kevin talking to a couple of his friends who worked there at the hospital. They were talking about how much fun they had when they all went to Memphis, Tennessee, for the Liberty Bowl. Their description of the fun they had, the hotel rooms they stayed in, and the great places they had eaten, plus the cost of tickets to the game - it all added up to quite a bit of money.
It made me wonder how Kevin could afford that trip and all that fun when just a week before the Liberty Bowl, he was telling me a tale of woe about how he would be evicted if he didn't come up with $300.
A few days after I heard about the big weekend in Memphis, Kevin was fired from his job. It was discovered he was playing fast and loose with the petty cash funds he used to run purchasing errands for the hospital.
I never saw him again.
The following Sunday morning I was leading worship at the Mizzou Christian Campus House. The experience surrounding Kevin's firing had me pretty low, but I was getting through it.
Our usual worship service at the time including providing an opportunity for anyone in the crowd to share a scripture that had been meaningful to them that week. One of the college students spoke up this Sunday.
He said he didn't really know why God had put this particular scripture on his heart that weekend, but he wanted to share it. He read from Matthew 5:38-42, which includes this line:
Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from youHe read that verse and then looked up at me. Everyone in the room looked up at me. And they waited. They watched tears form in my eyes.
I gave them an abbreviated version of what had happened with Kevin, and that this verse was obviously what I needed to hear.
That day, my wife and I made a decision to never again loan money to anyone.
We will give people money, when it seems appropriate to do so. If they promise to pay it back, we'll tell them that would be fine - we'll accept the payback if they do come up with the money. But this is a gift, because Jesus says to give to the one who asks you.
The custom has served us well, and we have put it into practice many times over the years. We've even been repaid a few times, but it was always a pleasant surprise, not an expected repayment.
Having this as our personal practice has helped to train us to have a generous heart. We love to give freely whenever God gives us that opportunity.
Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. II Corinthians 9:6-8
It's easy, when times are hard, to react by pulling everything you have inward, taking and protecting. During hard times I'm always puzzled by the Christians whose automatic response is to want to hide in their bunker and protect themselves and the things they have. I think God is much more pleased by the Christians who react to difficult days by heading out into the community to see how they can help.
The wicked borrow and do not repay,
but the righteous give generously
Psalm 37:21
I reconnected with Kevin a few years back, by way of Facebook. He was surprised when I friended him, and frankly told me he assumed I hated him.
I told him no, and I told him about the lessons I had learned from that experience.
He never did offer to pay me back. That's okay.
No comments:
Post a Comment