Iron Pockets

Iron Pockets

From Grace Gems at gracegems.org

The lesson applies to other things besides bread!

(J.R. Miller, "Evening Thoughts" 1907)

"Gather the fragments that are left over. Let nothing be wasted." John 6:12

"Waste not, want not," says the proverb.

It seems remarkable that He who could so easily multiply the few loaves into an abundant meal, should be so particular about saving the fragments that remained left over. But He would teach us economy by His own example.

The lesson applies to other things besides bread. We should never waste anything! Many people waste whole years of time in the little fragments which they lose every day. If, at the end of a year, they could gather up all these fragments, they would have many basketfuls of precious pieces of golden time.

In mints where gold is coined, the sweepings of the floor, the settlings of the water in which the men wash their hands, the very smoke from the furnaces, are all carefully swept through for fine particles of precious gold; and during the years large sums are recovered in this way.

If only we would learn to care as scrupulously for the fragments of the precious things which pass through our hands, we would be far richer at the end of our life.

--In Addition, Dr. Morris

The word conservative is so poorly used, often as a political mantra. One who is conservative, is conservative in everything, even to turning off the water when brushing their teeth.

During my eight years of university education (and it was a matter of necessity as it was idealism), I was so frugal in my lifestyle that my nickname was "Iron Pockets." I matriculated through all those years of college limiting my eating budget to one dollar a day. I so remember, at Chapel Hill, twenty five cents for breakfast(bowl of grits and coffee), twenty-five cents for lunch(small sandwich), fifty cents for supper(vegetable plate and coffee). I have always bought my clothing at a thrift store, usually the Salvation Army. I do not own, until this day, one article of clothing purchased new. I do not own a shirt which cost over twenty-five cents.

Now, it is none of my business how you spend your money. Many years ago, a bishop in the Methodist denomination told me, when I went to him talking about Gideons going into the Methodist churches to raise money, "It is none of my business how Methodist's spend their money." This writer was the first professional man to be admitted to the Gideon Christian Organization. Before the San Francisco convention, 1964, membership in the organization which distributes Bibles was limited to Christian businessmen.

It has always been comforting to me that Jesus instructed His followers to pick up the fragments. I do not throw ANYTHING away. If I could see, I would darn-mend my socks. Especially, the throwing away of food. I have heard public school officials talk about the free-government-paid lunches given to school children, and that the school children mostly throw away the food. This old, blind veteran would love to have one of those lunches! I have heard people who work in fast-food restaurants, talk of the food they would throw away at the end of the day. . . Throwing away good food when there are hungry people all around us.

Every day, 4 o'clock A.M., in my time of prayer, I pray for hungry children and refugees around the world. I am personally thrilled to know that just as Jesus fed people physically and spiritually, while in His short time on this earth, He enjoyed food fellowship with His friends, such as Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. Our blessed Lord certainly wants us to eat and enjoy food. But it must give Him great pain to know there are so many hungry people in a world of plenty. It must grieve Him to see what I saw in Buddhist countries, human beings who are very hungry, yet carrying large baskets of food to temples where monkeys are worshipped. It surely must grieve Him to know the amount of money wasted in warfare, billions of dollars, money that could be well spent on good things. When I was young, Washington D.C. referred to one million dollars as one dollar. In the insanity in spending there now, everything measured in billions of dollars. Stack one dollar on another until you have a billion dollars, and you will have a stack of dollars 64 miles high. If you started counting one billion dollars, dollar bills one-by-one, you would not live long enough even without taking a minute off normal life span, to count one billion dollars. Washington now spends about 10 billion dollars each day.

For whatever your vote is worth now, the Christian economy of one's money depends on one's insight into the generosity of God. He gave us life--His Son--and His Son has given us everything of true value. We can give without loving, but we cannot love without giving. In my personal life, the more I make-save-invest, the more I'm able to give for His important work. I truly believe that God loves a cheerful giver(2 Corinthians 9:7).

I was reared in a frugal living home. My mother would say, "we save for a rainy day." My father would jump over a gate to keep from wearing out the hinge. He was just as frugal at the church house, and school house (he was school board chairman) as he was at our house. In my personal philanthropy, my personal giving to God's work is the most important thing in my life. I draw the line at giving anywhere, anytime, to people or organizations who live better than I live. It sickens me to know how some preachers live, such as Kenneth Copeland, Benny Hinn, Robert Schuller, to name several. One pastor told me that during the hot summer, he kept his AC so low that he could sleep comfortably under a blanket. It reminded me of Richard Nixon, who during the summer would turn the AC down low and keep the fireplace going in the White House. If you want to get ill, think of the obscene extravagances of today's White House occupants. The same God who took a small boy's lunch and fed thousands, still has the power to correct obscenities in the world. Every page of His book, tells us that He knows what is going on in your life as in mine.