Legacy Youth Ministry Resources

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Verses on the Poor

Bill Ogden says that of the over 200 verses in the Bible referring to the poor, many or most of them judge the rich for not helping the poor.

What Riches Can Do

?As Andrew Carnegie grew richer and older, the sight and touch of the money he earned offended him. He could not carry money on his person, was once put off a London tram because he had no coins in his pocket. Henry Ford and Charlie Chaplin, other poor boys who became rich , also had a distaste for the actual handling of money.? (Cradles of Eminence, by Goertzel and Goertzel, p. 60)

People Don't Save

According to the US Department of Labor, only 3 out of every 100 Americans reach age 65 with any degree of financial security. Only 5 out of 100 Americans who are in the higher income professions such as law and medicine, reach age 65 without having to depend on Social Security. Most people simply work to get through the week with enough extra money to spend on the weekend. (source unknown)

Graham Gets Money Counsel

Early in Billy Graham?s ministry, after a series of revival meetings in Atlanta, the Atlanta papers pictured the Graham team carrying off huge sacks of money received from the offering. The headlines implied that Graham was getting rich. So he called a wiser, older friend, who advised him to let his board put him on a payroll as a salaried employee. The salary should be comparable to those who pastor large churches. Graham took this advice, and other financial advice throughout his ministry, thus protecting his ministry from scandal and giving both he and his ministry a reputation for being financially above reproach. (Just As I Am, p. 186)? Copyright 2002 Steve Miller - All Rights Reserved

Gen. X and Money

Insights into Generation X (20 somethings as of 1997) concerning money and principles: When asked whether they identified more with success or integrity, more than half chose success. Most of them believe, ?in this world, sometimes you have to compromise your principles.? They differ from their parent?s generation, when, as 20 somethings in 1973, only 31% agreed that money was ?a very important personal value.? Today, over twice that many, 64%, of Xers say, ?Material things, like what I drive and the house I live in, are really important to me.? Fewer twenty somethings seek a simpler life. A full third of them agree that ?the only meaningful measure of success is money.? (Time Magazine, by Margaret Hornblower, June 9, 1997) ? Copyright 2002 Steve Miller - All Rights Reserved

Teen Gamblers

A study by Connecticut?s Council of Compulsive Gambling found that 70% of teenagers in their state had gambled. A quarter of these had run up debts of $150 or more. (Source lost)

American Girls and Money

?Some economists think the average teen girl spends more than $1,000 a year on her wardrobe.? Even if you spend $500.00, you won?t be able to keep up. The average girl spends $482.00 on cosmetics, perfumes, and hair care. Remember, that?s the average. Some spend lots more. (Seventeen Magazine, March, 1988)

Imelda Marcos and Money

Married to the president of the Philippines, Imelda Marcos could dip into the national treasury?s billions to finance her shopping sprees. And could she ever shop! Once she shopped Rome, Copenhagen and New York, to the tune of 3,000,000 pounds in 90 days! She eventually collected 3000 pairs of shoes, 1500 handbags, not 35 coats, but 35 racks of fur coats, and 1200 designer gowns that she wore only once.? The money she spent was not her own, but was a part of the $5 billion that she and her husband stole from the Philippines treasury. Many poor Philippinos had worked hard for that money. But she didn?t love people. She loved things. Her disregard of people especially came out in the construction of a huge building for the Manila Film Festival of 1982. Wanting to impress the movie stars invited to attend, she took drastic actions when construction fell behind schedule. She ordered the builders to cut corners by moving to the next phase before the cement floors could dry properly. Consequently, a floor collapsed, killing around 200 workers. But that didn?t phase Imelda. When the family members came to claim the bodies, she ordered them away, covering the bodies with cement to avoid any further delay. (Mark Roques, pp. 45-47) (Mark Roques, with Jim Tickner, The Good, The Bad, And The Misled, 1994, Monarch Publications, Crowborough, East Sussex, Great Britain, pp. 45-47)? Copyright 2002 Steve Miller - All Rights Reserved

A Wealthy Pauper

Hetty Green rarely bathed and her underclothes would fall to pieces before she would get a new pair. Her children never had the luxury of using hot water while bathing. For food she sometimes bought barrels of biscuits and lived off them for months. In order to save money, she would send her son out with the morning papers to resell them. But believe it or not, Heddy was fabulously wealthy, making $7,000,000.00 per year, and that at a time when most Americans made about $490.00 per year. But amazingly, she was so obsessed with accumulating money that she couldn?t enjoy it, or use it to benefit others. One time her son Ned dislocated his knee and she wouldn?t take him to the doctor, opting to see if it would heal itself. When she saw it wasn?t healing, she dressed him in ragged clothes and took him to a paupers? hospital to get free treatment. But they were too late. The leg had to be amputated. (Mark Roques, The Good, The Bad, and the Misled, 1994, Monarch Publications, Crowborough, East Sussex, Great Britain, pp. 40-42)? Copyright 2002 Steve Miller - All Rights Reserved

Fergie's Shopping Prowess

Fergie, the Duchess of York, at one time reportedly owed her bank $4.5 million dollars. Her shopping prowess is legendary. On a trip to New York, the Times of London reported her spending $4,560.00 on shoes in 30 minutes. The Times also reported that she spent $15,200 on clothes in one month, and ran up phone bills of more than $6,000 every three months. ? Copyright 2002 Steve Miller - All Rights Reserved

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