The scriptures teach quite a bit on the subject of money. Sometimes, I doubt that we have been listening to what the Lord has to say about the thing that seems to drive our world. This is from August 6, 2007.
I bet it was an interesting Sunday morning in Tennessee. A church in Nashville is in the middle of a brouhaha revolving around the preacher. Members have brought a lawsuit against the minister, alleging he has been involved in financial misconduct, including mortgaging the church property without the permission of the parishioners. A meeting this week turned ugly and police were called to prevent the gathering from turning into, and I am using the terms used on The Tennessean's website, a near-riot and a brawl. The preacher has been legally barred from setting foot on church property. Members have stopped attending. I would guess it was an uneasy service today.
Money has the ability to anger us very quickly. Yesterday, I walked to a nearby store after stuffing some bills in my pocket instead of carrying my wallet. As I reached in to pay for my groceries, I discovered that I had lost a $5 bill somewhere between my apartment and the checkout counter. I retraced my steps but with no success. For the rest of the evening, I was mad. My hope was that whoever found it needed it more than I did. Have you followed the Michael Strahan saga in New York? The defensive end for the football Giants is either holding out for money or mulling retirement, whichever spin you choose to believe. Rumor is that he's not happy with his contract, worth only $4 million for the upcoming season. The Giants are not amused, fining Strahan in excess of $14 thousand for each day of training camp he misses. It might have something to do with his divorce settlement last winter which ordered the former All Pro to pay his former wife over $15 million plus $18 thousand per month in child support. (When you read the allegations of his infidelity, it's hard to feel sorry for him.) We just don't like to lose money, whether it's five bucks in my case or in the upper millions as regards to Mr. Strahan. Did Jesus carry money? Based on two scenes which involved taxes, it doesn't appear he did. In the one, concerning the payment of taxes to Caesar, the questioners brought him a coin. In the questioning of whether Jesus paid the temple tax, he instructed Peter to retrieve the money from the mouth of a fish he was about to catch. It might be easy to write it off by saying Jesus could produce what he needed out of available materials. But the Master left us a great example of not being consumed by wealth. The well-to-do did not come off in a positive light in his stories. That should be a lesson to us. I tend to see it as a lesson for people with more than I have: they're the ones who really need it!!!!
Applicable quote of the day:
"Money often costs too much."
Ralph Waldo Emerson
God bless,
Steve
Luke 18:1
www.hawleybooks.com
E-mail me at steve@hawleybooks.com
3 comments:
I am pretty sure tat I would bevery mad if i lost a five dollar bill, because for a kid, having 5 dollars meansyour pretty much rich. Good post.
Jacob
Wealth has indeed become a big part of society. I believe we have become to dependent on it, thinking that the more we have the better off we are. It was not that long ago when the Lord opened my eyes and showed me that there were more important things to spend time aquiring than wealth. I realized that aquiring a strong and healthy relationship with Jesus was deffinatly more important. Now I do not worry about the amount of money I have in my pocket because I understand that the Lord will always provide me with what I need. Thank you for writing this post!
A lot of us in America are living on the edge right now. It's easy, for me anyway, to get caught up in the dollar amount in the bank and worry about the future rather than trusting God to provide our needs. I guess I see this as a lesson for all of us. Remember the widow who gave all the money she had in the Bible? It was complete faith. Great post! As a teacher/professor I believe you are asking us to think. Nice!
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