When I was 15, I was serious about playing the guitar. I had my dad’s old one, but I wanted to get a better one. I had my eye on a yellow Gibson Explorer. I mowed grass all summer and saved and saved, and calculated that I only needed $30.11 to have enough to get that guitar. My dad had a best friend at work named Ben. Ben was a big black man with a shaved head, and was intimidating looking if you didn’t know him. But Ben had a golden heart, and made a habit of doing nice things for people. He often came to my ball games. When he found out that I had been saving for that guitar, and how much I lacked. He called me and said, “Hey Mark, I here you’re saving for a new guitar, and I wanted you to know that I’ve got about $30.11 worth of yard work that needs to get done at my house, and I was wondering if you’d be interested.” I still have that guitar today, and play it often.

-It is important to give money at church, but don’t limit your giving just what you put in the tray.