No one would ever have...
Illustration
No one would ever have guessed that Stan was a generous man, especially when it came
to helping others. Stan pretty much kept to himself. He wore the same old cloths and
drove an old car. Some people might have looked down on him since he did not seem to
value the things that his friends and neighbors did.
What no one knew was how he helped other people. Kathy was going through a difficult time at home; her parents were less than supportive of her attending the local community college. One semester, she needed $500 to pay her tuition. It appeared that she would be forced to drop out and enter the work force. It was unclear whether she would ever return to college. When Stan heard about this, he went to the college and paid the remaining tuition. He gave clear instructions not to tell Kathy who paid the bill -- just to tell her that it had been paid. Kathy could not believe it when she learned of this gift and was able to return to college.
When Stan's pastor shared a need during worship, Stan would show up the next day with whatever was needed to help. Stan did whatever he could to help, working behind the scenes, out of the sight of others. Stan is the type of person who does not draw a lot of attention to himself.
As we enter the season of Lent let us take Jesus' words to heart, "Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them ... so that your alms may be done in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you."
What no one knew was how he helped other people. Kathy was going through a difficult time at home; her parents were less than supportive of her attending the local community college. One semester, she needed $500 to pay her tuition. It appeared that she would be forced to drop out and enter the work force. It was unclear whether she would ever return to college. When Stan heard about this, he went to the college and paid the remaining tuition. He gave clear instructions not to tell Kathy who paid the bill -- just to tell her that it had been paid. Kathy could not believe it when she learned of this gift and was able to return to college.
When Stan's pastor shared a need during worship, Stan would show up the next day with whatever was needed to help. Stan did whatever he could to help, working behind the scenes, out of the sight of others. Stan is the type of person who does not draw a lot of attention to himself.
As we enter the season of Lent let us take Jesus' words to heart, "Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them ... so that your alms may be done in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you."
