Being rich toward God can sometimes come through fulfilling a vow. For example, let's examine the testimony of a giver who made a declaration to help others. The man’s story was similar to many who lived through the years of the Great Depression in the United States. He grew up poor. Christmas in his home was a shared fruit basket from the Salvation Army. But this man, even as a young boy, had aspirations and a driving desire to make things different for his own family, once he had one. After hard work, a college education, and stints in the military, the man found himself married to a wonderful young lady. Their life together as a couple was very short-lived as they quickly added children to their quiver and didn’t stop until there was a house full of them.
Providentially, every new birth of a child corresponded with an elevation in job position along with a higher salary. It was needed. Feeding that many mouths took a lot! After decades of work, the man reached the pinnacle of his professional career. Being president of a multimillion-dollar division of a multinational, multibillion-dollar company must have seemed the height of this man’s dedicated journey to raise a family and produce on behalf of his wife, children, and coworkers.
However, the man did something unexpected, something unusual for a man of his age and in his social and professional status. He got captured by a need. While attending church, he heard of the need for beds at an orphanage in the Philippines. Such a simple thing, a simple need, kids in need of beds. That simple thing became a catalyst that altered the course of this man’s life and the lives of his whole family for generations to come.
How does hearing of a need become a life-altering event? The hearer takes action. In this instance, the man felt compassion in his heart. His compassion led him to make a declaration. Speaking to his wife, the man made this statement, “If God would bless me, I would love to help those children get beds.” In fact, if God would bless him, this man said he would give 50% of everything he made back to God. That was it. A declaration, some would call it a vow, made by a man who saw a need and wanted to help.
This is the part in the story where we expect to hear how the man was unexpectedly blessed by an event that changed his life instantly. Not so fast. Three months after that declaration, this man had lost his job; nine months after, he was still unemployed. One year after the declaration, the man, his wife, and family were living off savings and wondering what to do next. In the task of trying to make ends meet, the vow was understandably forgotten.
But the mysterious ways of God continued to move before the man. God had in His hand a qualified person, fit for a job and dedicated to fulfilling the words he had spoken. The first step was to move the man from his place of comfort. There goes the job. The second step was to prevent the man from reentering his comfort zone. No new job available for this overqualified candidate. The last step was to remove everything from the man’s life that he intended to use to fulfill his vow. Unable to find a job with another company, the man's only option was to start or buy a company and run it. Having experience in running multimillion-dollar operations left him qualified to buy and run such a company. However, to purchase such a company requires money. So, along with investors and every last dime his family had in retirement and savings, the man bought his first company. Over the next decade, he would acquire several more operations and build businesses with a value much greater than he could have expected, or possibly even imagined.
Oh, the man and his wife also started a foundation dedicated to assisting children in need. They were able to buy new beds for orphans and much more. They used their blessing to touch the lives of millions of people around the world. The man kept his vow. Generosity became his endeavor, and that generosity has continued to have an impact beyond his life.