You’ve heard them before –
but maybe you’ve never heard these:
“Money talks, but all mine
ever says is ‘good-bye.” (Unknown Quotes)
“Money talks - everything
else walks.” (African-American Proverb Quotes)
“When money talks – no one
notices what grammar it uses.” (Unknown Quotes)
“Put not your trust in
money – but put your money in trust.” (Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr., “The Autocrat of the Breakfast Table.”)
“If you would know the
value of money, go and try to borrow some; for he that goes a borrowing goes a
sorrowing.”(Benjamin Franklin, “Poor
Richard’s Almanac.”)
“A nickel ain't worth a
dime anymore.” Yogi Berra
“A man can no more make
money suddenly and largely, and be unharmed by it, than one could suddenly grow
from a child's stature to a man's without harm.” (Henry Ward Beecher, “Proverbs from Plymouth
“Too many people spend
money they haven't earned, to buy things they don't want, to impress people
they don't like.” (says wise man Will Smith.)
Let’s think about the
subject a little. If “Money Talks”, what does it say.”
Several months ago, on a
morning walk, I saw a gutter full of pennies – there were at least 150 of them!
That money said, “I would like to go in the Penny Offering at Church!”
Several mornings ago, I spotted
a nickel on a sidewalk – then another – then another. That money seemed to say, “You had
better watch more closely! Don’t you remember that the news spoke of someone recently dropping $1 bills on the sidewalks?”
Two weeks later, I spotted
a shiny copper penny on the street at a pedestrian crossing. I was riding a
bicycle, and felt like picking it up – until I remembered how easy it is for a motorist
to be preoccupied with sending a text message.
The money that Proverbs 13:11 describes, says, “If I come
easily, I disappear quickly.”
The money that Ecclesiastes 5:11 describes, says, “When I
increase, watch out for those that demand or need it more than you!”
If the money that Emanuel
Ninger, (1887), hand painted, could speak, it would say, “Why would you, a
master artist, deceptively paint counterfeit $50 dollar bills in your attic,
when you have portraits in your attic worth more than $16,000 at public
auction! You are robbing yourself! Don’t forget that someone else might pick up
on a careless oversight – by handling your money with wet hands!” His arrest
and notoriety earned him the nick name “Jim the Penman” in the press.
Ultimately, money is God’s
idea in order to facilitate the exchange or trade of goods and/or services that
God had entrusted people with. It is meant to “come alongside”. Another way of
saying it is that it purports to assign material value to intangible substance.
No wonder Jesus was so
disappointed in the response of the young ruler who came to him seeking to
inherit eternal life, (apparently as an extension of, or addition to) his
earthly wealth. He knew that ultimately both parties would lose.
In the ruler’s earthly mind,
the shiny, surface expression of wealth was true wealth. But, his soul disagreed! Jesus loved him, and gave his honest appraisal of the need. Jesus
offered him a quick way to get started on it all by selling his goods, and helping
to alleviate the needs of the poor, thus investing in the true wealth of the eternal
world – true “substance”. But, he would not. (Luke 18:18-27)
In this case, the true wealth
that Jesus knows deep within, cries out to the ruler about his foolishness!
Or, another way of saying
it is, “Do not be too hasty in picking up a beautiful copper penny in front of
a car, when the apparent wealth of the driver is blind to its power to
demonstrate poverty and/or wealth. Rather commit the keeping of your wealth to the One
who sees all needs!”
How many pennies would it take
to meet your eternal need
