Flourishing as Living Richly, Part 2

Scripture — 1 Timothy 6:17-19 (NRSV)

As for those who in the present age are rich, command them not to be haughty, or to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but rather on God who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, generous, and ready to share, thus storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of the life that really is life.

Devotion

In yesterday’s devotion, I began to reflect on how we can flourish by living richly. A passage from 1 Timothy provided divine guidance for how we should think about riches. Reminded of “the uncertainty of riches,” we were encouraged to set our hopes on God, who “richly provides everything for our enjoyment.” We were instructed to “do good, to be rich in good works, generous and ready to share.” Even if we have limited means, we can still give generously from all that God has given to us. We can give our time, our attention, our care, and our love. Whether we are financially rich or poor, living richly isn’t a matter of what we have, but of what we give. When we give richly, we live richly. And when we live richly, we flourish.

As I reflected on this passage from 1 Timothy, I was reminded of a man I never knew in person, but whose story has always inspired me. Since yesterday’s devotion was already rather long, I saved the story of this man for today.

I’m thinking of Howard E. Butt, Sr. As I mentioned, I did not know him personally, but I have known many members of his family well. Plus, I am quite familiar with Mr. Butt’s story, a moving narrative that marvelously illustrates the teaching of 1 Timothy 6:17-19. When I worked at Laity Lodge, alongside several members of Mr. Butt’s family, I loved telling his story to our retreat guests. (You can read more about this story thanks to the Texas State Historical Association.)

Howard E. Butt, Sr. was born into a family with very limited financial means because his father had tuberculosis. To support the family, Howard’s mother opened a small grocery store in Kerrville, Texas. Howard had to work as a teenager, delivering groceries from his mother’s store. Sometimes these deliveries would take Howard to expansive ranches in the Texas Hill Country. He loved those outdoor spaces and resolved that someday he would buy a ranch, not for his own enjoyment, but for the sake of children who, like him, were not privileged enough to spend time on a ranch.

Howard was an industrious, brilliant person of business. Starting with the tiny store his mother founded, he built the H-E-B Grocery Company into a large, highly successful organization. Thus, Howard became someone that 1 Timothy would describe as “those who in the present day are rich.” How did he use his wealth? In part, he used it to grow an outstanding company that, to this day, provides high-quality, reasonably-priced products for millions of customers and exceptional employment for tens of thousands of workers in Texas and Mexico (whom H-E-B calls “partners”). H-E-B also has a history of corporate generosity, helping the communities in which it has stores. To this day, the company has donated over a billion pounds of food through its hunger relief program. That’s just one example of the company’s generosity, which reflects the deep values of the family that owns H-E-B.

But that’s not the whole story of Howard Butt, Sr. Even before the Grocery Company was a large enterprise, Howard, along with his wife, Mary Holdsworth Butt, started the H.E. Butt Foundation. They sought to be “rich in good works, generous, and ready to share.” They did this in many different ways, including support for literacy, children, and health, both mental and physical.

Another form of generous sharing fulfilled Howard’s lifelong dream of buying a ranch for children without privilege. In 1954, the Butts purchased a magnificent 1900-acre ranch in the Texas Hill Country, giving it to the Foundation. Soon, they oversaw the building of five camps on the property. These Foundation Camps were made available without charge to churches, schools, and other non-profit groups. In the last 70 years, hundreds of thousands of people, especially children, have stayed at the camps, experiencing the wonders of nature and the presence of God. (Let me add that these camps are well-developed and located in one of the most beautiful places I have ever been.)

Howard E. Butt, Sr., along with his wife, Mary, lived richly in the sense of 1 Timothy 6:18. They did abundant good. They were rich in good works. They were generous and ready to share. Thus, they serve as a stirring example for us of how we are to live richly.

In yesterday’s devotion, I mentioned that you might be tempted to object, “But I am not rich like Howard and Mary Butt. I don’t have that much to share.” I’m sure that’s true of most readers of this devotion. I know it’s true of me. But, as I wrote yesterday, compared to the world, most of us are relatively rich. Plus, even if we have little in the way of material resources, we can still be generous with the gifts God has entrusted to us.

I think of an experience one of my friends shared with me. He went on a mission trip with members of his church to an impoverished area in southern Africa. Upon arriving, he was struck by how little the people he was visiting had in material wealth. They lived on the edge of serious poverty. But on the first night of his visit, his hosts prepared an elaborate and delicious feast for him and his fellow guests. At first, he felt guilty eating this feast, knowing what a sacrifice it was for his hosts. But when he saw their joy in serving him, his guilt subsided. His acceptance of their exceptional generosity gave them a chance to rejoice and, indeed, to flourish. They were flourishing by living richly through giving richly.

The stories I’ve told today provide two very different examples of people who lived richly by giving richly—though when it came to financial means, they had little in common. But what they shared was a commitment as followers of Christ to put into practice the teaching of 1 Timothy 6:17-19. They did good. They were rich in good works. They were generous. They were ready to share. Their example encourages me to consider how I might do similarly, stewarding well all that God has entrusted to me, whether I am rich or poor or somewhere in between. Perhaps you’ll want to do the same.

Find all Life for Leaders devotions here. Explore what the Bible has to say about work at the unique website of our partners, the Theology of Work Project. Reflection on today’s Life for Leaders theme can be found here: Biblical Wisdom for Approaching Wealth, Money & Your Work – Roy Goble.