NSD: Crisis Becomes Opportunity for Faithful Stewards
When the coronavirus arrived in South Korea in February 2020, people and vehicles on the streets were reduced to half their normal numbers. In China, where the epidemic began, many factories stopped their production. Satellite images showed that the sky had turned from brown back to clear because of the decrease in carbon dioxide, thanks to all the closed factories! In Korea, countless restaurants closed because they had no customers. Protestant and Catholic churches, as well as Adventist churches, suspended normal worship services and had to start online services.
During all this, I received a phone call from Brother Lim. “Pastor Kwon,” he said, “I need to increase my tithes and give more to missions.” Ten years ago, when he was a business administration student, I had given Brother Lim $50 out of my wallet and joked: “Invest this for me, and when you become president of a company later, you can give me the interest on the principal.”
Today, Brother Lim is the head of a company that produces nurungji, the crust of overcooked rice. In addition to his returning tithe every month, he increased additional giving every time his income increased, and gave that money to missions. When the coronavirus caused an economic crisis in Korea, people cut back on going out to eat and on shopping for food. Because of that, the consumption of nurungji in Korea increased. Brother Lim’s company’s business increased, and sales increased, and of course, his tithes and mission offerings increased!
The economic crisis became an economic opportunity for this faithful steward of God.
