Seventh-day Adventist Church

2003 NAB Offering Call

“Becoming Faithful Stewards”

TAKEN IN

In 1999 Antoine Winfield was rated the top defensive back in the nation, running the 40-yard dash in 4. 4 seconds, and is reported to have delivered bone-crushing tackles. This athlete from Ohio State University was selected in the first round of the NFL draft by the Buffalo Bills, receiving a $3.5 million signing bonus.

However, when Winfield decided to invest some of this $3.5 million, he turned to a close friend who was both his agent and financial advisor, Dunyasha Mon Yetts. This was a bad decision. According to a complaint filed in the U.S. District Court of Columbus, Ohio in December 2001, his so-called friend and advisor, Yetts, had cheated him out of $1.35 million. “Yetts repeatedly lied” according to US News & World Report, February 11, 2002, “once telling him that he had generated more than $68,000 in profits for Winfield in less than four weeks of stock trading.” Now Antoine Winfield is suing Yetts, but his chances of getting it back are zero, as Yetts filed for bankruptcy last July.

The sad part of this story is found in these words of Winfield, “I kind of trusted Him a lot.” The real blessing is that when we as Christians invest our money by giving it to God, we can trust Him. Our Lord has promised us that none of the money we send on to

the heavenly kingdom through our earthly financial gifts will ever be mishandled or stolen. Jesus reminds us that when we store up treasures in heaven, neither moth or rust can destroy it, and no thieves can break in and rob the First Bank of Heaven. (Matthew 6:20).

Appeal text: “[We have] an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade, kept in heaven for you.” [1 Peter 1:4 NIV]