The Barefoot Millionaire

In the early 1990s, Rich Mullins was one of the most successful artists in Christian music. His song "Awesome God" had become an anthem sung in churches around the world. Royalty checks poured in. And Rich Mullins never looked at a single one.

He had arranged for his financial manager to pay him the average American worker's salary — nothing more. The rest went to charity. Mullins never even knew how much money he made. He didn't want to know. He was afraid that if he saw the numbers, he might start to love them.

So instead of a mansion, he moved to a small trailer on a Navajo reservation in New Mexico, where he taught music to children. He walked around barefoot. He owned almost nothing. And he kept writing songs that shook the rafters of ten thousand churches on Sunday mornings.

When asked why he lived this way, Mullins said something pastors should tattoo on their hearts: "If you give to God, it's not really a sacrifice. It's just common sense. You can't take it with you."

The Apostle Paul wrote, "I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord" (Philippians 3:8). Rich Mullins didn't just sing those words. He arranged his entire life around them.

Sacrifice isn't always dramatic. Sometimes it looks like a quiet decision to hold your gifts with open hands — trusting that the Almighty who gave them knows exactly what to do with them.