Legacy Youth Ministry Resources

Illustration texts

Forty Ties for One Neck?

?Money,? says the managing editor of Money Magazine, ?has become the new sex in this country,? meaning that money is the number one obsession of Americans. The famous medical missionary Albert Schweitzer always wore a white pith helmet, white shirt and pants, and a black tie. He had one hat that he wore for 40 years, and the same tie lasted him 20. When someone mentioned to him that some men had dozens of neckties, his replied, ?For one neck?? We must learn to apply Paul?s ?secret?: being content whether we have little or plenty.? (Current Thoughts and Trends, Nov. ?92)

Bankruptcy and Churches

?For the past several years, an average of 1,000 churches in the United States have gone bankrupt every day.? (Current Thoughts and Trends, Nov. ?92)

Being Content With No Shoes

It is said that a man complained about having no shoes, until he met a man with no feet.

Socrates on Wealth

Socrates once said that the wealthiest person is not the one who has the most, but ?He that is content with least, for contentment is nature?s wealth.?

Who Was The Richest

Evangelist Billy Graham tells of a time that he and his wife Ruth visited an island in the Caribbean: "One of the wealthiest men in the world asked us to come to his lavish home for lunch. He was seventy-five years old, and throughout the entire meal he seemed close to tears. 'I am the most miserable man in the world,' he said. 'Out there is my yacht. I can go anywhere I want to. I have my private plane, my helicopters. I have everything I want to make me happy. And yet I'm miserable as hell." We talked with him and had prayer with him, trying to point him to Christ, who alone gives lasting meaning to life. Then we went down the hill to the small cottage where we were staying. That afternoon the pastor of the local Baptist church came to call. He was an Englishman, and he too was seventy-five. A widower, he spent most of his free time taking care of his two invalid sisters. He reminded me of a cricket--always jumping up and down, full of enthusiasm and love for Christ and for others. 'I don't have two pounds to my name,' he said with a smile, 'but I'm the happiest man on this island.' 'Who do you think is the richer man?' I asked Ruth after he left. We both knew the answer.? (Just As I Am: The Autobiography of Billy Graham, p. 697) ? Copyright 2002 Steve Miller - All Rights Reserved

Wealth = What You Can Do Without

?The amount of a man?s wealth consists in the number of things he can do without.? (Ralph Waldo Emerson, quoted from Straight Talk, by James Dobson)

Give According To Your Income

?Give according to your income, lest God make your income according to your giving.? (Peter Marshall)

Discover the Character of Materialism

Have you ever gotten infatuated with someone of the opposite sex, only later to be turned off because you discovered the person?s obnoxious character? Perhaps we can take the same approach to escaping materialism. Most of us get infatuated with the dream of striking it rich one day. But I think if we could look behind materialism?s beautiful disguise, we?d be turned off at the ugly reality. Only then can we escape its grip and say from the heart, ?I am content without more things.? ? Copyright 2002 Steve Miller - All Rights Reserved

Mother Theresa on the Poor

?I have the opportunity to be hours a day with Jesus?The poor are Jesus for me?I find the rich much poorer. Sometimes they are more lonely inside. They are never satisfied. They always need something more?I find that poverty hard to remove. The hunger for love is much more difficult to remove than the hunger for bread.? (Mother Teresa, on why the poor are God?s greatest gift to her, from Time Magazine, 12-4-90, quoted in Youthworker Update, 1/90)

Bankrupcy of the Inner Man

?A German philosopher many years ago said something to the effect that the more a man has in his own heart the less he will require from the outside; excessive need for support from without is proof of the bankruptcy of the inner man.? (The Best of A.W. Tozer, compiled by Warren W. Wiersby, p. 126)

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