Watching the activities of two of the world's richest men, you'd never know that one of them was a missionary, the other a driven Machiavellian.

One summer, a mechanical engineer friend of our family asked my dad if he thought I could shoot the movement of a barge he had just built, to the confluence of the Ucayali River in Peru. I was eager, buying enough film to canvas the event and submit the forthcoming result to the overtly expressive employee of a large construction company.

The day came and the enormous floating hull crawled down the dirt roads of a nearby village to the Pucallps docks where the massive structure would slide into the muddy waves. As I clicked away at possible sights, the thought struck me that here in this plot of red dirt and jungle, a wealthy inventor had reinvested his machines and efforts to help Peruvians prosper. He'd already contributed time and money in missions directly. Now I was seeing his vision on film and riding on huge aircraft tires as the weighty steel frame onerously moved down one street after another.

As it slowly tipped and dropped into the river, I felt a surge of pride of be part of LeTourneau's history as a builder of mechanical giants. He was famed for giving away 90% of his profits to missions around the globe, including the banner under which my parents served.

Wealthy men and women today aren't often so benevolent, as they fear the end of time and are building underground fortresses for their wealth, their families and their friends. It's sad, Jesus Himself noting the young's man sorrowful departure, "for he was rich".

God intended for mankind to use wealth in a very different way, and our hope in Him, not our volatile gold and silver coins. Even now, mines of silver are "going dry". Our wealth cannot be in the ground, but our eyes and treasure in heaven. God provides our jobs, our gain, our homes, and our future.