Happy Blessing New Year!

When Rick and Melissa Hinnant met, they certainly didn’t represent a sound financial template for a successful marriage. According to CBN.com, “Melissa was in real estate. Rick had been living on credit cards, trying to start a number of businesses, and was $80,000 in debt.” Rick started from where he was financially to try to work his way out, going door-to-door and asking to do yard work. The story notes:

Before long, Rick’s landscaping business took off, and the newly married couple started working their way out of the red. “I was doing everything possible to annihilate that debt and as quick as I could,” Rick says.

All the while, the Hinnants were tithing. Rick explains, “God says, ‘Test me,’ and I love the challenge, and so if God says,

‘Test me’, I’m going to sign up.”
Melissa adds, “Even during our hardest financial times, we still always gave because I know if God is going to bless us, we have to be faithful to continue to give.”

Rick then expanded the business by adding Christmas light installation. Melissa turned her knitting hobby into an income source. All the while, the couple struggled with God’s purposes for their financial resources. The article notes that…

…she was convinced that money was mainly a tool to help the needy. “If money can make me have more of a difference, then that’s great, but I didn’t need it,” she explains. Rick admits, “There was this civil war inside. Yes, I wanted to give more money, but did I want to make more money so I could have more material things? I simply asked God, ‘Do I have money before you?’ And what I heard was, ‘Yes, you do.’ I asked God to forgive me instantly. I told God, ‘Whether I make a lot of money or not, I’m done striving.’ Instead of ‘What can I acquire?’ It became about ‘How can I help the kingdom?’ When I surrendered to God, my landscape company exploded.”

The Hinnants decided to go on Shark Tank with Melissa’s socks, which she had begun to sell online. After the program, they did a million dollars in sales overnight.

The company is called Grace and Lace, and Rick and Melissa cite their faith in God as the reason for their financial success. Rick says, “We ended up with a $3 million year,” adding, “It was like God saying, ‘Look, I can do things that will blow your mind, like that.’”

Rick and Melissa, who have three children, “choose to live way below their means so they can help the poor.” They’ve been involved in helping to support disaster relief, constructing orphanages, and more.

The article says, “For those who want true financial freedom, the Hinnants suggest living to give, not get.” Rick says, “I would challenge anyone out there to put God first…Where you are giving, you are blessing, you are helping, and you are changing the world for the good.”

Melissa states, “God isn’t looking for people who are like, ‘Give me, give me, give me!’ Everyone has to start somewhere, and it doesn’t have to be big. It comes from the simple place of, ‘God, I want your will done in my life.’ You might be going through a hard financial time, but God still wants your purity of heart in giving.”

CBN reported on a recent American Bible Society study stating, “a new study reveals Scripturally-engaged Americans are ‘far more likely than others to donate to charity.’” it quoted from a statement from the Society: “Americans who are engaged with the Bible gave $145 billion to charitable causes in 2021,” adding, “Practicing Christians, those who are actively living out their faith, are much more likely to give.”

Want to be great in the Kingdom of God? The Bible challenges us to come to Jesus as a little child. Humble yourself before the Lord. If you’re selfishly trying to “get,” you will get what you deserve. If you’re selflessly trying to “give,” you will see the hand of God. All the while, we can remember that He is the One who is our provider, on Whom we can depend.

We can also recognize that God honors those who dedicate their lives to doing His will. Rick Hinnant was deeply in debt, but he took a first step and started going door-to-door. He had wanted to be an entrepreneur, it seems, but things didn’t work out. He surrendered his plans and decided to get in conformity with God’s will. What a wonderful example of humility! It is also a reminder that things may not go how we plan, but we can seek to get in sync with His plan. His plan, as outlined in Scripture, is for His people to use His resources for His purposes.