“Let your life be a stepping stone to Christ and not a stumbling block.” 1 Cor. 8:13 & 10:31
“Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works and glorify God who is in heaven.” Matt. 5:16
The Way Of Living Generously
By David Green
What would you do? In 2012, Hobby Lobby faced a critical, company-ending decision. They could either face fines of $1.3 million per day or provide abortion-inducing prescriptions as part of Obamacare. The latter option was against the religious and moral views of David and his family.
In Giving it All Away and Getting it All Back Again: The Way of Living Generously (Zondervan 2017), David Green recounts his US Supreme Court struggle. He tells how his family chose to stand by what they believed, knowing it might cost them the company. Their journey of faith took them to the edge: few people realize that in the trials leading up to the Supreme Court case, it took a full panel of judges (something rarely done) in the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals to grant Hobby Lobby’s victory. Moreover, the decision came just four days before their $1.3 million-per-day fines kicked in.
Beyond their court case, David tells the story of the work of God in his family’s life. David recounts the story of his mother, Marie Green, and her legacy of faith. He also shares his own journey of faith—of starting a business with $600, nearly losing the business in the mid-1980s, and steadily growing the business thereafter.
More importantly, David challenges families to consider the power of their own family legacy and shares how they can think multi-generationally. He writes about how wealth is far more than money and about the power of living generously. He shares personal and practical stories of his own growth in generosity and the impact giving has had on his family.
This is a different kind of book written by a man that many consider one of the most influential Christian business owners in the country. I, Bill High, was privileged to be a co-author with David on this book. Would you help us share the power of family, of legacy and of living generously? You can now pre-order a copy at Amazon by clicking here.
David Green believes that generosity and building a legacy based on giving can lead to getting back what you really want: a family that stays together, prays together, and shares life joyfully.
Green tells the story of caring for the small things and starting Hobby Lobby in their garage. He shares the difference between the worlds of “having and hoarding” and a world of “giving and generosity,” the principle of working for God and not for men, and that now is not too soon to consider what you want your legacy to be.
As proof of how living by those principles can change your life, Green shares that when Hobby Lobby came close to bankruptcy in 1986 and when the Supreme Court challenged the Hobby Lobby’s right to life beliefs in 2014, the company emerged with its integrity intact.
Green sees the life of giving as a life of adventure. But it’s a life that pays the best rewards personally, offers a powerful legacy to your family, and changes those you touch.
Copyright © 2017 National Christian Foundation, Heartland, All rights reserved Bill High, coauthor, is Executive Director.