Acts 20:35 (New International Version)
In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of
hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself
said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ”
Wallace E. Johnson was born in 1902 into a poor farm
family in Edinburg, Mississippi. He learned carpentry as a teenager and later
worked in a sawmill, lumber yard and as a building supply salesman. He went
into the home-building business in Memphis, Tennessee, at age 38, with a $250
loan. Within a few years his business was the largest and most successful in
the South. In 1952, he joined with Kemmons Wilson to form the motel chain
Holiday Inn. Together, they built Holiday Inn into one of the largest motel
chains in the world.
In 1966, Johnson and Kemmons built Medicenters of
America, Inc.
Wallace Johnson was also a Christian who insisted there
be a Bible in each Holiday Inn room.
He said: "The one reason why we've always had an
open Bible in every room in the Holiday Inn motels is to help people find Jesus
and the solution to their problems, no matter who they are."
Johnson and his wife Alma were deeply involved in their
church in Memphis, Tennessee and he also gave liberally to Christian causes.
He once said: "I am totally dependent on God for
help in everything I do. Otherwise I honestly believe I would start to fall
apart in months."
How's your giving to the Lord? Do you give your time? Your Talents? Your
money?
Dear Lord we ask today for wisdom as we give of our time
and our money. We pray that we would give freely just as You have given to us.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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