Illuminate the World with Good Works

In an article in the New York Times, Robert D. McFadden writes about “Charles Feeney, Who Made a Fortune and Then Gave It Away,” and died at age 92.

Feeney was raised by working-class parents who struggled during the Depression to pay a $32 monthly mortgage.

He served in the Air Force and got into the duty-free shopping business. The business went global. Profits were enormous. By the early 1980s, he was plowing tax-free annual dividends of $35 million into hotels, land deals, retail shops, and clothing companies. He later invested in tech start-ups and multiplied his income exponentially. By age 50, he had palatial homes in New York, London, Paris, Honolulu, San Francisco, Aspen, and on the French Riviera.

But as Feeney said later, “I just reached the conclusion with myself that money, buying boats and all the trimmings didn’t appeal to me.” So, he sold his limousines. He stopped going to fancy restaurants and started buying his clothes off the rack.

He decided to give away his money before he died—secretly. He gave $2.7 billion to fund 1,000 buildings on five continents, and his name appeared on none of them. He gave grants by cashier’s checks to conceal the source.

Feeney funded public-health facilities in Vietnam, the University of Limerick and Trinity College in Ireland, AIDS clinics in South Africa, Operation Smile’s free surgeries for children with cleft lips and palates, a medical campus for the University of California at San Francisco, and earthquake relief in Haiti.

In his last decades, Feeney did not own a home or a car, wore a $10 wristwatch, preferred buses to taxis, and, until he was 75, flew coach. He lived in a two-bedroom rented apartment in San Francisco.

Why did he do it?

Feeney said, “I cannot think of a more personally rewarding and appropriate use of wealth than to give while one is living, to personally devote oneself to meaningful efforts to improve the human condition.”

In a recent post, we shared an acrostic of the word “passion,” highlighting 7 qualities and characteristics of zeal. This is the 5th post in which we’re considering the traits in more detail. If you’ve missed the first four posts, go back and read “Pursue God with your Whole Heart”, “Act in Love, Serving One Another,” “Stand Firm, Unshaken in the Faith,” and “Spend and Be Spent for His Glory.”

While most of us will not ever accumulate the wealth of Charles Feeney, we can illuminate our own little corner of the world with good works. Using our time, talents, and resources, we can encourage others, promote ministry, and share with those in need.

Jesus said, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matt. 5:16).

We live in a world that often feels dark and dreary, plagued by pain, sorrow, sickness, and the evil of wicked people. We see injustice, self-ambition, and greed all around us. However, we can radiate God’s grace and bring help, hope, and healing to those within our circle of influence.

Light cannot be hidden. It shines, by its very nature, to pierce the darkest night. The prophet Isaiah captured this truth: “If you extend your soul to the hungry and satisfy the afflicted soul, then your light shall dawn in the darkness, and your darkness shall be as the noonday” (Isaiah 58:10).

A kind word to the discouraged, a meal given to the hungry, time spent with the lonely, a gift given to a friend, a note sent to say “thank you,” and a contribution to a missionary, charity, or college can make a difference in someone’s life and shed a ray of light.

No wonder the Bible often speaks of Christ-followers engaging in “good works.”

“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them” (Eph. 2:10).

“Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share” (1 Tim. 6:18).

“Having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works… glorify God” (1 Pet. 2:12).

Religious writers through the ages have captured this idea beautifully. D.L. Moody once said, “A holy life will make the deepest impression. Lighthouses blow no horns; they only shine.” In other words, we don’t need to draw attention to ourselves; the quiet brilliance of a life well-lived speaks volumes. Similarly, Charles Spurgeon observed, “A good character, when it shines out with consistency, is the best sermon that was ever preached.”
Jesus redeemed, as Paul penned, “to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works” (Titus 2:14).

Don’t worry about the world’s darkness. Francis of Assisi was right: “All the darkness in the world cannot extinguish the light of a single candle.”

–Ken Weliever, The Preacherman