Some years ago there was a celebrated artist in Paris
named Ary Scheffer. On one occasion he wished to introduce a beggar
into a picture he was painting. Baron Rothschild, the famous banker,
and one of the richest men in the world, was a friend of the artist,
and happened to come into his studio at the very time when the artist
was needing a beggar to model.
“Wait till tomorrow,” said Rothschild, “ and I will
dress myself up as a beggar and make you an excellent model.”
“Very well,” said Scheffer, who was pleased with the strangeness
of the proposal. The next day the rich banker appeared, dressed as a
beggar, and a very sorry looking beggar he was.
While Scheffer was painting him, another friend came into the studio.
This kind man was touched by the beggar’s appearance. As he passed
him he slipped a gold coin into his hand. The pretended beggar put the
coin into his pocket.
Ten years after this, the gentleman who gave this piece of money received
a check drawn on the Bank of the Rothschilds for ten thousand francs.
This was enclosed in a letter which read as follows:
“Sir, you one day gave a louis d’or to Baron Rothschild
in the studio of Ary Scheffer. He has invested it and made good use
of it. Today he sends the capital you entrusted to him, together with
the interest it has gained.”
Account given by James Rothschild
This story reminds me of two Bible verses. “Be
not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained
angels unawares” (Heb. 13:2). For a generous man, this was one
good deed among many. He did not know who received the money nor did
he care. He simply saw a man in need and desired to help him. Lot, the
nephew of Abraham, saved himself and part of his family by welcoming
two strangers who came to the dangerous city of Sodom. Unknown to Lot,
those men were angels sent by God to affect the salvation of Lot and
his family.
The giver of the gold coin in our story had no idea he was handing money
to one of the richest men in the world, nor could he have ever dreamed
the money would come back to him ten thousand fold. “He that hath
pity upon the poor lendeth unto the LORD; and that which he hath given
will he pay him again” (Prov. 19:17).
When we give to the poor, we are, in effect, lending the money to God.
That seems a strange concept to us because we recognize God as the One
who is self-existent and needs nothing. Yet, there is a limited sense
in which we actually help God by doing our part in God’s plan.
While it is true that God could provide for the poor in any way He wanted,
He has chosen to meet their needs through the good works of fellow men.
When we give to the poor, we take our place in God’s plan for
providing for those in need and, in that sense, lend the money to God.
The good news for the giver is that God then takes on Himself the role
of repaying that which has been loaned. Some would twist this into a
fund-raising ploy by telling us that God will repay that loan with more
money that we could ever imagine. But, let us not forget that while
God might bless us with physical wealth, God also repays in the currency
of joy, peace, happiness, contentment, patience, and, ultimately, eternal
life. These are the greater riches of life that wealthy men search and
struggle for in vain until they give themselves and their money over
to God. Is it any wonder James describes Jehovah as the giver of every
good and perfect gift (Jam. 1:17), or that Jesus taught us it is more
blessed to give than to receive (Acts 20:35)?
