REAL value September 20, 2010
I really want the new iPhone4. It’s so sleek and fun and pretty! I’ve considered saving my money and buying it. I mean, afterall, it would add great value to my life. Right? Right?!?!
Then I read this article from The Word is Life:
Saving Pennies for God’s Word
by Karen Weaver
PAPUA NEW GUINEA
One evening Gerold expressed his regret to Takashi, “I’m sad that I won’t have enough money to buy a New Testament when it’s printed.”Takashi and Yeako Nakamura gladly welcomed Gerold into their house when he stopped by for a visit one evening in 2006. Gerold loves the Lord and is happy that the Nakamuras have been living among his people since 1989, translating God’s Word into his heart language.
Takashi knew that there are not many cash crops in the area, and that Gerold has to pay school fees for his four children. Yet he felt the Lord prompting him to respond with a challenge, “If you start saving money now, it will be easier for you. We still have a lot of time.”
Gerold considered these words and concluded, “This is good.”
After that, Gerold started putting aside small amounts of money wherever he could. He has already paid for a New Testament and now is saving money to buy copies of God’s book for each of his four children. Others heard what he was doing and followed his example.
Because of his initiative, more than 100 people have already paid for a copy of the Maiwa New Testament. All of them are eagerly looking ahead to 2012, the year the Maiwa translation team hopes to present the completed New Testaments to the people.
Please pray for Takashi and his co-translators as they go through the final steps of checking the translation for accuracy, clarity, and consistency. They are scheduled to begin typesetting the Maiwa New Testament in February 2011.
Hello Rachel, you’ve just been backhanded by conviction! How’d that feel?
Gerold understands what has real value in life. God’s Word. How easy it is to take it for granted. To not cherish it. Let it soak into my heart and mind. Transform me. Fill me. Then I read a story like Gerolds. He probably has no idea what the iPhone4 is and, most likely, could care less. Because of that, some people may consider him to be poor, but I would say he is richer than Steve Jobs (though Stevie may be equally rich spiritually, who am I to judge? Now I’m curious…I might have to google that. Anyway…). There is nothing wrong with buying an iPhone or any other nice object, as long as we recognize those things pass away. They hold no eternal value. I have to ask myself, how much of my money am I using to make myself happy, and how much am I using to help others find complete joy in Jesus Christ? I’m not saying I have to live in poverty and not have nice things….it’s just a matter of what my priorities are. I’d say I’d be doing pretty good if I followed Gerold’s example. What about you?
Gerold, a man who understands value
