R. G. LeTourneau, a self...
Illustration
R. G. LeTourneau, a self-taught industrialist and builder, was a dedicated Christian with a
great desire to serve God. The first major type of equipment he built was large
earthmovers. Early in his career, he realized that rubber tires on the earth-moving
equipment made them much more efficient. He tried to convince one of his major
purchasers and user of his equipment to use the rubber tires. The purchaser refused,
thinking that the traditional steel-wheeled equipment was much butter.
R. G. attended a mission rally and pledged a really large sum for mission work, knowing that the only way he could meet his pledge would be to sell most of his rubber-tired equipment. The following Friday, he received a large order from the man he hoped would try the rubber. He sent the order to him with rubber tires. As soon as it arrived, the angry customer called R. G. and asked for the steel. R. G. said, "I'm sorry, please use it as is for the weekend, and I'll have the steel wheels there Tuesday." The rubber was tried, and when the steel arrived, the purchaser said, "You were right, R. G. Please put rubber on all my equipment." He added five more earthmovers to his order.
R. G. believed in tithing (giving 10%) and going much beyond tithing. He started with a tithe, then advanced as his business prospered, to where he was giving 90% of his income and living on 10%. He had little formal education, but taught himself so adequately that he used new methods in building offshore oil rigs, jungle lumbering equipment, and electric motors in the wheels of earthmovers that outdid everything else being made. He was a great example of giving to a multitude of needs here on earth, and thus stored up treasures in heaven.
R. G. attended a mission rally and pledged a really large sum for mission work, knowing that the only way he could meet his pledge would be to sell most of his rubber-tired equipment. The following Friday, he received a large order from the man he hoped would try the rubber. He sent the order to him with rubber tires. As soon as it arrived, the angry customer called R. G. and asked for the steel. R. G. said, "I'm sorry, please use it as is for the weekend, and I'll have the steel wheels there Tuesday." The rubber was tried, and when the steel arrived, the purchaser said, "You were right, R. G. Please put rubber on all my equipment." He added five more earthmovers to his order.
R. G. believed in tithing (giving 10%) and going much beyond tithing. He started with a tithe, then advanced as his business prospered, to where he was giving 90% of his income and living on 10%. He had little formal education, but taught himself so adequately that he used new methods in building offshore oil rigs, jungle lumbering equipment, and electric motors in the wheels of earthmovers that outdid everything else being made. He was a great example of giving to a multitude of needs here on earth, and thus stored up treasures in heaven.
