Misers for God — E.A. Johnston

Warren Buffett’s Miserly Lifestyle and Spiritual Folly

I read a story this week, friends, that absolutely fascinated me, and I want to share with you today. It's about investing legend Warren Buffett, who has an estimated net worth of $74 billion, making him the third richest person in the world.

Now let that sink in. His lifestyle is that of a working class man. The 86-year-old billionaire still lives in the five-bedroom home in Nebraska that he bought in 1958 for $31 ,000. Now get this, friends.

He never spends more than $3 .17 on breakfast. On his five-minute drive to the office, he's kept the same routine for the last 54 years. Listen to his words taken from a recent interview. I tell my wife as I shave in the morning I say either $2 .61, $2 .95, or $3 .17, and she puts that amount in the little cup by me in the car.

When I'm not feeling quite so prosperous, I might go with the $2 .61, which is two sausage patties, and then I put them together and pour myself a Coke. $3 .17 is a bacon, egg, and cheese biscuit. But if the market's down this morning, I'll pass that up, and I'll go with the $2 .95, the sausage, egg, and cheese.

Here's a man, the third richest person in the world, and he eats at McDonald's every day for breakfast. He has a miserly lifestyle. He's a modern miser. But the sad thing is, the old boy's an atheist.

So is Bill Gates and George Soros, other billionaires. And my Bible says, the fool says in his heart there is no God. And although these rich billionaires command the world's respect and the world's attention, God sees them as nothing but fools.

For one day, they will die, in part with their money, as they enter a crisis eternity. But my point is, friends, that this man Buffett is a modern miser. And I believe we can learn something from his habits to be misers as well.

But miser's for God. And that's the title of my message today, friends. Miser's for God. And I want to introduce you to a man who was a modern miser for God and the gospel. His name was William McDonald.

William McDonald’s Life of Sacrificial Stewardship

Bill was a Christian author who sold millions. His one-volume Bible commentary called Believer's Bible Commentary sold over a million copies. His book on discipleship, True Discipleship, sold over a million copies.

Bill could have been a millionaire, but he chose rather to honor God with his money. And he chose the life of a miser for God. Bill and I were good friends. He wrote the endorsement for my biography on J. Siddle Baxter.

And he encouraged me to write my own book on discipleship, No Turning Back. Bill was the author of over 80 books, and he never took a dime from royalties. But instead used that money to advance the gospel.

It was Bill who convinced me to do the same with my own books. I've never taken a dime from royalties, but plowed that money back into furthering the gospel. Well, Bill lived a life of self-sacrifice.

He had an earned MBA from Harvard. And he could have stayed a successful stock analyst in Boston. But instead he chose a life of serving his master full-time. Let me say this, friends. You get a man who is 100 given to God and living for God 100%.

And God will use that man 100%. And you can take that to the bank of heaven. Bill McDonald was that kind of man. If you visited his plane apartment in San Mateo, California, you'd find him sitting at his writing desk, which was a door taken off its hinges and laid across two chairs.

Why spend money on a desk when you can make one for free? Bill went without to spread the gospel. He was truly a miser for God. Bill often told me he believed that a believer should not hoard money for a rainy day, but spend everything above basic needs to advance the gospel and then trust God for tomorrow.

Discipleship and Sacrificial Giving for the Gospel

That's a lesson hard to learn, friends, because it goes against what the world teaches us about money. Let me read you some of Bill McDonald's biblical views on money and giving as taken from his book, Winning Souls the Bible Way.

Here are his words. Discipleship must mean willingness to give up modern appliances, comfortable furniture, and well-equipped homes, while deliberately sacrificing to send money to missionaries. We should live sacrificially for the spread of the gospel.

We should be willing to do without present necessities, to say nothing of comforts and luxuries, in order that souls might not perish for want of the knowledge of Christ, and in order that we might look forward to a harvest of souls.

Accountability Before the Bema Seat

Now, let's be honest with ourselves, friends. Can we trust God like that? I believe, friends, that at the Bema seat, we're going to face an accountability review of how we handled the money God entrusted us to us while we were here on earth.

Did we do all we could, with all we had, to further the gospel to our generation? Did we live our lives in light of eternity, or did we live for this world and its amusements? Were we misers for God, or spent thrifts on ourselves?

Creative Evangelism Through Tracts and Scripture

We have to be proactive and look for ways to advance the gospel with the resources God has given us. I want to share with you today, friends, some ways that God has allowed me to spread the gospel. I don't feel I've done hardly enough to advance His work, but I'll never preach to you what is not a reality in my own life.

I'm sure you are already doing your part, friends, in advancing the gospel in our day, but here are some extra suggestions, some ideas which may be useful and helpful to you. When I was a college kid, I paid to buy advertising space on a bus bench that sat at the corner of a busy intersection.

They painted the Bible verse, Let not the sun go down upon your wrath, from Ephesians. And every day, while folks drove home from work, they were confronted with the word of God. We can be creative in ways to get God's word out there.

For years, I've handed out gospel tracts. I'm a firm believer in a tract ministry. You can be creative and even write your own tracts to reach the lost with the gospel. In driving through McDonald's, you can hand a tract to the person in the window when you pay and hand another tract to the other person who hands you your food.

I always say in a warm voice and with a smile, I want you to have this because it's made a positive impact on my own life. Maybe it will help you too. Most folks will take the tract and thank you for it.

Another way to witness is to carry inexpensive copies of the New Testament in your car. I was speeding through Georgia one time and a Georgia patrol trooper pulled me over. I apologized to him and I said I was a preacher on my way to a meeting and I wasn't paying attention to the speed limit and I didn't realize I was speeding.

He looked me over and asked for my driver's license, then quickly handed it back to me and said, Next time, be more careful. I looked him in the eye and said, Officer, would you like to have a little Bible to keep with you?

He nodded and I reached in my glove box and handed him a New Testament saying, This has helped me. Perhaps it will help you. He didn't just stuff it in his pocket, but rather he took his time to leaf through it and he gave me a grin and said thank you.

And every once in a while when I think of that man, I pray for that officer. A little pocket edition of the New Testament takes up little space, but could be used to God if the opportunity arises. Handing out Bibles, friends, is the best way to get God's word out.

Or you could start a conversation with a stranger and turn the talk to spiritual things and share the gospel one-on-one. Like when I was walking in a park one day and I saw a police officer and I walked up to him and commented that he had a dangerous job, that people were killing cops all over the country.

I asked him if he ever gave any thought to where he'd spend eternity. It made him think one-on-one evangelism is the best way to spread the gospel. I'm also a big believer in supporting Bible translation.

Did you know, friends, that there are still over 1100 foreign language groups that still don't have the gospel in their native tongue? Giving to an organization like Wycliffe is a good way to advance the gospel to the ends of the earth.

Supporting Missionaries and Bible Distribution

Supporting foreign missionaries has always taken a precedent in my giving, for I believe this is one of the best ways to spread the gospel. Find an organization that is solid and trustworthy. I've been duped in the past by sham ministries, so do your homework.

Another way to advance the work of God is through Bible distribution. There was a clothing store in Tennessee called Bibles for China, and if you dropped off your used clothes there, they would sell them and take that money and buy Bibles and distribute them in China.

That's a great way to spread the word if you don't have money to give, but you could give some clothes perhaps you're not using. Another ministry I support is the Russian Bible Society. They print Bibles for Russia and distribute them.

They are a trustworthy ministry as well, and this is a great way to be a part of reaching the globe with Bibles printed in the Russian tongue. And if your income, friend, barely meets your bills, here's an idea I've used in the past to support the spread of the gospel.

The Drawer Ministry and Sacrificial Giving

I call it the drawer ministry. We often have things of value just sitting in a drawer at home that we really don't need if we were honest with ourselves. Years ago, I kept a stash of gold one-ounce Krugerrands in a drawer in a sock until a preacher friend of mine needed help for his ministry.

I took the gold coins to a coin dealer and sold them and then gave that money to him. Why keep something valuable hidden in a drawer when it can be sold and given to God and the support of the gospel?

When I had money, I never tithed. Let me repeat. When I had money, I never tithed. I never tithed because I never thought that was enough. I always gave at least 15 before taxes of my salary to my church plus love offerings.

I think we limit God by keeping 90 and giving him 10%. That should only be a guideline as a bare minimum. You may wish, friend, to get out a pad and paper or put it in the notes in your cell phone and make a list of ways to advance the gospel in your generation and try to incorporate as many of them as possible as you are able.

Living as Misers for God

I'm sure you have other ideas yourselves, but these were just some suggestions to help you get the gospel out to this generation more effectively. The key thought for today is this. If a billionaire like Warren Buffett can deny himself to advance his fortune, surely we can do likewise to advance the gospel in our day.

We should live as misers for God. Only one life will soon be passed. Only what's done for Christ will last. Let us pray.