Selling your cow …

Davon Huss is the preaching minister at Pleasant Ridge Church of Christ, and likes telling this story …

One of my older sisters and her husband served for 12 years as missionaries to Haiti. Among various other ministries, such as church plants, a school and feeding programs, they discipled a few young men who today lead various churches and ministries.

One participant in this was a shy young man named Miltador. Miltador showed a heart to obey even the most radical instructions of the Bible. Like most Haitians, Miltador lived in poverty. He did have one possession that many Haitians did not. Miltador owned a cow — a feat that may not sound all that impressive to us, but one that would give Miltador’s family an opportunity for ongoing nourishment from the cow’s milk and ongoing income breeding the cow and selling its calves.

Miltador came into possession of the cow after several years of work. A local farmer hired Miltador, then just a boy, to take care of a calf. Each morning and evening Miltador retrieved the calf from the neighboring farm, found a place for it to graze, then returned it to its home. Miltador cared for the calf, with no pay, until it had grown and could be bred. When the farmer finally bred the cow, the farmer gave Miltador a calf — his only payment for years of work.

“As this discipleship group, including Miltador, studied through the New Testament, they came upon 1 John 3:16-18.

We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters. If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person? Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions. – 1 John 3:16-18

Paul, the man who led the study, struggled with whether to teach the passage. American Christians need this message; we typically think of Haitians as the ones who need help. Because the passage was in the Bible and because even the poor need to recognize the need to help others, he taught this passage.

The next week, when Miltador arrived at discipleship group meeting, Paul casually asked about his cow — was it healthy? Miltador hung his head, “I don’t have the cow anymore,” he confessed.

“What a tragedy! What happened to the cow?” asked Paul.

“My brother has been sick and needed to see a doctor,” explained Miltador. “He had no money to pay a doctor. Last week you told us that if we have material possession, and see our brother in need, but don’t help — how could the love of God be in us? So I sold the cow and gave the money to my brother so he could see the doctor.”

What an example of how individual Christians are to take care of physical needs. How often does the American church miss the depth of community to which God calls us!

There are millions of people — many of whom are good “church-going” folks — that struggle with problems from troubled relationships to mental illness and need competent, skilled clinical help for them to be able to change their lives. But most of these people do NOT get the help they need, and a key reason for that is because they can’t afford to get the needed help.

There’s a reason why we at the Scott Free Clinic call our tiny handful of financial sponsors “Care Partners.” It’s because these people care about the needs of others, just like Miltador cared about his brother. Our Care Partners see the help others need, and their inability to get it, and step in to make the needed help available.

At Scott Free Clinic, we’re committed to removing the barrier of cost so that anyone and everyone can get the services we provide to help them change their lives. Whether it’s a couple on the brink of divorce, a pastor suffering from depression so deep that he’s nearly suicidal, or a church that wants to be equipped to become an effective disciple-making church, our purpose for existing is to provide the kind of care needed for people to be able to change their lives and become whole persons in Christ.

Our challenge is that we need many more “Miltadors” for us to be able to fully launch this parachurch ministry and provide the needed ministry services. We’re not asking you to go sell your cow, but we are inviting and challenging you to see the need around you and then become a Care Partner with us. That may mean giving a one-time gift, or giving something on a monthly, quarterly, bi-annually, or annual basis. Care Partners give what they can, when they can, and they do so because they care!

Please take a few minutes to explore our website at ScottFreeClinic.org to learn how we can work together to help change lives and glorify God. And if you’re able, please consider making a donation to the Scott Free Clinic today. You can give online from our website, and all donations are tax deductible.

Thank you!

Dr. James Scott, Jr.
Founder & President,
Scott Free Clinic