The other morning I was in my office and going through the monthly drudgery of paying bills. You know the routine, grab the stack sort it out and decide what to pay this week, what to pay next week and who needs a talking to for the credit card bills. After all these years of toiling through this dreaded exercise in dismal necessity, I came to a conclusion. It doesn't matter how much money I have made, or have, or am coming into the feeling is the same, aggravated reluctant submission. That's right sort of like the feeling when you're in the dentist's chair and Dr. Malevolence is standing over you with the Turbo Ten Thousand nuclear powered drill ready to abolish you entire gum line. You know that it's going to hurt but it will cure the pain that's in the tooth now. That is at least until the next cavity comes along! So I go along writing checks, stuffing envelopes, licking and stamping, yes us old timers still pay that way, until my task is finished. Then I sit back and look at the finished pile with utter contempt as if I just survived a big old spoon of cod liver oil. No satisfaction just survival. I beat the wolves back from the door for another month! I live to fight another day! Great, just great. Talk about hollow victories. So I rush off to the post office and discard this stack of temporary reprieve as if I were throwing out a dead mouse. Victory is mine until the 15th of next month. Then I went back home sat down in our prayer center to do my morning devotion and was nudged, no better yet pushed. Not physically but spiritually.
The Lord was reminding me of something so very necessary to my daily walk with Him, gratitude. Where was my gratitude for the grace He had shown me for the gift of seeing us taken care of for another month. I felt a sense of sheepishness and a bit of shame come over me. Here I am a card carrying Christian man who spends a good portion of his life reading the Word, praying and professing the glories of our Great King Jesus and I am acting as if I'm a child who didn't get my sugar free sucker when I left the dentist's office. I immediately asked forgiveness and prayed for a new sensitivity to my calling. You see, in this life we have so many duties and obligations and most of them revolve around money. Money or love of money dominates our world so pervasively that it is the number one story that dominates the national and global news each day. Let me give you a few hints; stimulus package, recession, bank bailouts, home foreclosures, job losses, tax revenue, budget cuts, salary demands, CEO bonuses, oil prices, cost of living, shall I go on? We have built a brand new altar in this world and it's called MONEY. Resplendent in it's ability to do such good and destroy with swift abandon mercilessly in the same breath. All we talk about it seems nowadays is money or money problems. All the while forgetting that it is He who owns the cattle on a thousand hills. He who feeds the sparrows, clothes the lilies of the valley and provides for His children. He gives and takes away. And He is no respecter of persons but loves us all equally and with total compassion. In fact the bible has over five hundred verses each about prayer and faith but over two thousand verses about money. Hmmm, you think God is trying to emphasize something here? We can't solve the problems in our nation right now because our vision is blurred by our misguided love of self and money over Him and His provision. When we die someday and face Him we will be asked about our life, our accomplishments and opportunities to do good for Him and His kingdom. Not for the ability to create wealth, store wealth, hoard wealth or like the USA today squander our wealth. For money is just the vessel to use to get through this life to create the opportunities for doing good or harm. Ultimately, it's the heart of the giver that determines the nature and to a lesser degree the results of the gift. Money comes and goes but God's love and purpose for us stands, unbreakable, unwavering and ever loving. So if your altar is colored green, I suggest you tear it down and build one that's made of true gold, repentance, submission, dedication and gratitude. You will be amazed how much easier it gets facing the bill monster each month, however cod liver oil will still taste badly.
Ecclesiastes 5:10
Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. This too is meaningless.
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