Random Act of Kindness Follow Up

Random Act of Kindness Follow Up

 

Dear Champions, 

The previous story on Larry Stewart was actually 5 years old, so I decided to google him to see if there was any more news on him.  I found out that he actually died in January of 2007 from his battle with cancer at 58 years old.  His private holiday giving started in December 1979 when he was at a drive-in restaurant nursing his wounds from having been fired. It was the second year in a row he had been fired the week before Christmas.

"It was cold and this carhop didn't have on a very big jacket, and I thought to myself, `I think I got it bad. She's out there in this cold making nickels and dimes,"' he said. He gave her $20 and told her to keep the change.

Champions, once again, have a great week!-David Vining

Random Acts of Kindness

 Random Acts of Kindness

Dear Champions,

The short excerpt is from Dave Ramsey, and the Scripture is Luke 6:38  Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."

One of the great holiday mysteries was revealed several years ago when Kansas City businessman Larry Stewart (aka Secret Santa) came forward and told the world that it is he who has gone around for the past 26 years and handed out $100 bills to random people at Christmas. He estimates that he has given away about $1.3 million during his time.

Stewart, who has cancer, said he revealed his identity because he wants to spread the word about how strongly he believes in random acts of kindness. He has plans to speak to community groups and get the word out about helping other people in need, be it through donating time or money. "That's what we're here for, to help others out," he said.

What's even more amazing than Secret Santa's story is its origins.  In the early 1970s, Stewart was a broke salesman. After living in his car for eight days and not eating anything in two days, he stopped at a diner and ate a big breakfast. He couldn't afford it, and pretended that he lost his wallet when he was done eating. The diner owner, who was also the chef, came over and paid for Stewart's meal. That one little act of kindness inspired Stewart to give about 1.3 million in the last 26 years.  The giving started with $5 and $10 bills, but as Stewart's career in cable television and long distance phone service grew, he found that he was able to give more. He started giving in Kansas City in 1979 and has traveled all over the country, even forming an entourage who goes out and gives. Stewart has been all over the place, giving money in New York after 9/11 as well as the Virginia/Washington, D.C. area after the sniper attacks a few years ago.

Stewart is proof that giving is the most fun you can have with money, and it's a joy to get to choose how you will help others. It could mean buying a hot meal for a family at a shelter, buying toys and giving them to charity, or just handing money out.  Giving makes us more Christ-like, and a spiritually mature Christian gives. It also makes us become less selfish, and less selfish people have more of a tendency to prosper in relationships and in wealth.  Because we are designed in God's image, we are happiest and most fulfilled when serving and giving.

Champions, have a great week!-David Vining