The man requested to see the well-known preacher prior to embarking on an around-the-world cruise. He said it was urgent. Slumping down in a chair across from the pastor’s desk the visitor explained the reason for his visit.
“I have no zest,” he told him flatly. “I’m really dragging bottom.”
The minister proceeded to inquire about the man’s condition. He was happily married to a good woman. His business was booming. He was in good health. Still, he was void of enthusiasm, and he couldn’t figure out why.
“I just have no zest!” the visitor told him again and again. “That’s why I’m going to take this cruise. I’m going first-class, and I expect to come back with some zest!”
The preacher pressed for more information.
“I presume you give liberally to your church?” the pastor asked.
“What church?” the man responded pointedly. “We attend on Christmas and Easter, assuming we’re in town. Besides, that’s a big place. They don’t need my money. Their property is worth millions!”
The pastor gently reminded him that you can’t pay a pastor’s salary on the mere assessed value of property. Sheepishly the man nodded.
“Well, friend,” the pastor began. “I’m going to give it to you straight. I think I know your problem. You might not like it but here’s the thing. You need to learn to give! You need to stop thinking so much about yourself and start investing in the lives of other people.”
On the spot the man wrote a check to the church. “This was an expensive visit,” he said through a half grin. “But you know what? I feel better already.”
The man would later turn his life over to the Lord and became deeply involved in the Big Brothers organization. “The first time a little boy called me ‘Daddy,’” he would later say, “I had never felt so much zest in all my life!”
Can you relate to this man’s plight? Have the burdens of life gotten you down? Are you feeling a bit blah?
Has it ever occurred to you that the way up is to get out of your own way?
Giving is really not about money, you know. It’s a reflection of our heart and what matters most to us. If you really want to feel alive and excited, I would encourage you to give to something beyond yourself.
Here at Focus on the Family we rely entirely on the sacrificial gifts of other people to help bring help, hope and healing to families all around the world. Thanks to the generosity of several friends, just for this month, gifts will be doubled. It’s an astounding thing and something that will enable us to help far more families than we would be otherwise able to assist.
To learn more about this opportunity to double your contribution, please click here. Thank you for your consideration!
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