How Uncle Johnny Got Rich
As I was meditating on Philippians 4:19 (“my God shall supply all of your need”) my thoughts shifted to Dad’s uncle Johnny. Let me explain.
Like most promises in the Bible, this one comes with strings. As the whole of the book and especially the preceding context demonstrates, this promise belongs to generous people. Philippians 4:19 does not underwrite wastrels or misers.
We often view the fulfillment of this promise in terms of the health and wealth gospel. A good illustration would be R. G. Letourneau. He began tithing when he had to borrow money to do it. Over time, God blessed his business to the point where he gave ninety percent of his income to God and lived well on the ten percent he kept.
Some look to stories like Letourneau’s with a wrong view of giving, and a misunderstanding of the passage we have before us. First, most of us are not inventive geniuses like Letourneau, who created giant earthmoving equipment, making a fortune through his abilities. Second, the verse says nothing about getting rich. God only promises to supply our need, and His idea of our need may not be the same as ours.
Which brings me to Uncle Johnny.
The Depression hit Uncle Johnny’s business hard. Fearing bankruptcy, he began going to church and to tithe, because he had heard that if you do this, God will bless you financially. Guess what happened? His business failed. Why? First, he gave with an ulterior motive. Second, he was not even saved!
Uncle Johnny never became a wealthy businessman, but later on, he did discover the true riches and came to truly understand the gospel. This provided rich rewards. A few months ago, the last of his children joined him in heaven, and he is still reaping spiritual dividends in his grandchildren, one of whom is a missionary in South America.
Few of us will be like R. G. Letourneau, but we can all aspire to be like Uncle Johnny.
David Potter served for many years as a missionary in Hungary with Baptist World Mission.
Photo by Alexander Grey on Unsplash