About Money

I came around the corner and found my two-year old, Elliot, standing in front of my daughter Anna's play cash register.  "What are you doing, Elliot?"  I asked.

"Nothing," he replied.  Then he grabbed a handful of plastic coins and began stuffing them into his pants pockets.  Then he said:  "Got money!  Lotta money!"

Now, I am not sure where Elliot got the idea that money -- of any kind -- was important.  I certainly am not in the habit of pulling out handfuls of change to show my children how rich I am.

However, money is pretty important in this world.  You have only to try to buy gasoline, or groceries without it to realize the fact that this world revolves around cash and credit.

While I am not in love with money, I am a pretty big fan of some of the things it can buy.  At the same time, I can say that I have received much more satisfaction by giving to someone in need than I have ever received through a new purchase.

In the end, money has the value that I decide to place on it -- nothing more or less.  I am not quite at the place that the Apostle Paul was when he said "But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content." (I Timothy 6:8), but that is my goal.

I would teach my children the difference between plastic and real money.   I would teach them the value of money.  But I would teach them to value relationships, love, and godliness more.  For, in these things there is great gain.

How Old is Zeus?

"Don't go in those weeds, Elliot!"  Anna shouted from where she was digging in her garden.  Sometimes Anna thinks she is her brother's mother, but I digress.

She went running over to where Elliot was walking in the tall grass.  The whole time they were walking back, she was scolding him.  "Now, Elliot," she said. "You shouldn't go in there.  There's ticks and things like that in there.  I know Zeus goes in there (Zeus is our dog), but Zeus is a lot older than you are."

The biggest difference between Zeus and Elliot is not that Zeus is four years older than Elliot (that would make him 6 years old, or 30 in dog years), but that Zeus is a dog and Elliot is a boy.  But, when you are a child, you equate everything to age.  My mother wouldn't let me chew gum till I was nine years old.  I couldn't drink coffee till I was fifteen.  I couldn't drive till I was sixteen.

Age isn't "just a number," as some people say.  It is something very real.  But it doesn't tell the whole story either.  At the end of Luke chapter two, it says that "Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man."  It doesn't mention the fact that He got older, because of course, everyone gets older.

There comes a time in most people's lives when they would be OK with stopping having more birthdays and just maintaining a particular age.  It doesn't work that way.

The question for me, isn't whether or not I'm old enough to do something.  I hit that age awhile ago (although I have a little while to go before I can order from the senior menu at Bob Evans).  The question is whether I am still growing -- in wisdom, in love, and in my daily walk with God.

Public Restrooms

My son Vince likes public bathrooms.  While he is in them, he repeats a little mantra:  "Wash your hands, dry your hands!"

Perhaps it is the automatic sinks or, the weird paper towel dispensers, but he really like the filthy places.

Recently, we went to the Louisville Zoo and I took him into the bathroom.  As we were walking to the sink, a man stepped away from a urinal and headed straight for the door.  Vince perked up immediately.  In a loud voice he said:  "You forgot to wash your hands and dry your hands!"  The man shot him a dirty look and then continued out of the bathroom.

Somebody is watching.  Oh, I have known since I was a boy that Jesus is watching me.  And certainly that is plenty of reason to not say or do anything that would displease Him.  But there are lots of others who are watching too.

My children -- even somebody else's children -- hear the things that I say and absorb the things that I do.  I suppose maybe I should be worried that they think less of me if they see me doing the wrong things, but that really isn't my concern.

My worry is that my children will follow in my footsteps and find that they lead to destruction.  For, I pray that they would discover that their father has clean hands and a pure heart before God.  Even in moments when I think that no one else is watching.

Fall Garden

I am thinking about a fall garden.  I say thinking, because while we've had a good garden this summer, with plenty of production and plenty of rain, there comes a time in the year when I start to get tired.

I am always excited in the spring, pouring over garden catalogs and thinking about how much corn seed and bean seed to buy and if I want to try anything different from usual to grow.  Then, I have lots of energy and desire to get out and turn over the soil.  Lots of wondering, as well, about what kind of year the spring and summer will bring.

I suppose it is the way that humans are.  As it is described in Ecclesiastes 12, the aging process is kind to none of the faculties "...and desire fails, because man is going to his eternal home and the mourners go about the streets -- before the silver cord is snapped..."  I have been built in such a way that I will eventually wear out.

I guess I am thinking about that more this week, because my wife, Elaine's grandmother has just passed on to her eternal rest.  And I know that grandmother was not sorry to say good bye as her time to graduate came, even though we will miss her.

It is a blessing to know that after work in the summer's heat, there will come rest.

I decided to go ahead with a fall garden -- planting some spinach, lettuce, and peas.  But there will still come a time when I will rest from planting and weeding and harvesting.  Even more, there is coming a time when my Lord will call me home to rest from all my labors.  And I will gladly go.  For my desire to see Him, to be with Him, is greater than any other thing I could wish for.

What's Going on With the Amish?

 

"What's been going on with the Amish these days?"  Lou asked me.

I was completely taken aback.  First of all, I am not an expert on Amish, by any means.  Second, I had no idea what he was talking about -- maybe something to do with the Amish mafia.  "What do you mean?"

"Well," he said.  "I bought some Amish chairs and a couple of them came apart after a couple of months of use."

I told him that I really didn't know.  As far as I knew, the word 'Amish' had just been used as a way of advertising the chairs.

Some terms are used so generally that they have lost a lot of their original meaning.  The word "Christian" has been used as an adjective in association with all sorts of things:  Christian values, Christian homes, a Christian church, and even Christian politicians.

For many of these things, to be Christian means very little.  In Nigeria, roughly half of the population considers themselves to be Christian, while half consider themselves Muslim.  Yet, for many of the Nigerian Christians, the only thing that makes them so is that their parents, or grandparents were Christians.  Or, even just that they were given a Christian birth name.  I am afraid that it isn't that much different to be a Christian in the United States.

It is with such people that the word Christian becomes devoid of meaning.  What once meant to be a disciple, or a follower of Jesus, now becomes a word that indicates a loose association with people or, organizations that use the term Christian to identify themselves.

Mahatma Gandhi was asked why, though he quoted many of the words of Christ, he refused to become His follower.  He replied:  "Oh, I don't reject Christ. I love Christ. It's just that so many of you Christians are so unlike Christ."

I pray that I might be different.  A true follower of Christ, who serves in word, in deed and in Spirit.

Called

A few weekends ago, a big thunderstorm was predicted.  An 80 percent, the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration website predicted.  I went to bed early, knowing that the weather radio in my alarm clock would keep me awake most of the night.

I was pleasantly surprised  when it didn't make any noise until it was time for me to wake up.  It did make me wonder a little bit about what you have to do as a weather forecaster to get fired.

Of course, when you use "computer models" and put numbers on things, everything seems so scientific.  But obviously they are far from perfect.

In Biblical time, there were many prophets.  They were men who made their living by foretelling the future and often getting into trouble by saying bad things about the future of the country and the king.  The thing was that if their prophecies did not come true, the people were commanded to stone them (to death).

Perhaps it seems odd that anyone would go into a profession with such terrible consequences for failure.  But people didn't go into the occupation for a paycheck.  Rather they went into it because they were called.

In the case of the prophets, this meant an audible voice from God, maybe even a vision of God's glory.  Once that call came, fear of anything else went away.

While I have not read of anyone in the medical profession being stoned recently (that is, killed by people throwing stones at them), the work does require effort.  I am afraid that many people enter it because it's "a hot field," or just simply because "there's money to be made there."  So much better for to be a calling.

I am sure there are plenty of weather forecasters and people in other professions, who are just in it for the money.  But I will make a prediction that you will find no greater satisfaction than in the field to which God calls you.

Sidewalk Chalk

My children love to play with sidewalk chalk.  Recently, they have been all about drawing roads.  It's sort of funny to draw a road on top of our driveway, but there are often several there, along with Vince and Anna's names printed in large, block letters.

I'm not totally sure why they like to draw with chalk so much.  Maybe it is because they get to draw much bigger than you can on a standard sheet of  8.5 by 11 inch paper.  I think a lot is due to the fact that it feels more permanent than drawing on paper.

When you are five or six years old, a good portion of the things you draw end up in the trash or, recycling bin.  But when you draw on the sidewalk or driveway, it is there -- fixed like the pyramids -- at least until it rains again.

There is inside of humans a desire to leave something behind that is visible and worthwhile.  In ancient times, these were often tombs and Pharaohs worked on the pyramids that entombed them for years prior to their deaths.

The book of Ecclesiastes speaks of a man who attempted to leave a mark behind for posterity.  He invested of himself in pleasure, in wisdom, and in building.  In the end, he describes all of it as empty, vanity, a blowing of the wind.

So it is that of the seven wonders of the ancient world, only one (the pyramids) can still be seen today.  In the end, all the works of humankind are but chalk drawings on sidewalk of time.

This is only to say that there are other things -- not valued by the powerful of this world -- that will last.

It is about giving and not building, it is about mercy and not strength, it is about love for those who deserve it least.  Jesus showed us by His example and though He built no tower and wrote no books, what He did has changed the world forever.

Climbing the Stairs

My son, Elliot, was just learning to climb the stairs.  I watched as his red head slowly moved up the steps.  His concentration was intense as he moved towards his goal.

Finally, fifteen stairs later, he arrived at the top.  He looked around to find himself alone and in the dark, without a clue as to how to get back down.  A second later, his voice was raised in a wordless shriek that demanded rescue.

Life is full of mountains, beckoning to be climbed.  They have a variety of titles:  Mt. Wealth, Mt. Power, Mt. Success and others.  Unfortunately, there is nothing at the bottom of them, telling the climber whether or not they are worth climbing.  All we can see is those toiling their way up them and it certainly looks as though they think their mountain is worthwhile.

The Bible tells a different story.  In Matthew 16:26 Jesus asks the questions "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?  Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?"

So often, men and women spend their whole lives climbing the mountains around them.  At the end of their lives, they find themselves "successful" yet alone and unfulfilled.

This is Satan's goal.  He wishes us to use up our lives and energy in worthless pursuits, all the time whispering to us that enjoyment lies just a little higher on the mountain.

Jesus offers a different way.  His is not an easy path, but in the end it offers a true reward.  For, who wants to look down the stairs at the end of his life to find himself terribly successful, but horribly lost?

Lego Faces

A recent study looked at the expressions on the faces of Lego people.  Twenty years ago, they all smiled.  But now, a full sixty percent of their faces have expressions other than happiness.

It really impressed me when I went to a Lego store in Columbus, Ohio.  Among other things there, there was a bin with the parts necessary to build your own Lego figurines.  As I looked through the faces, they were mostly angry, sullen, and unhappy with a few pleasant ones in their midst.

Now, I have no idea why Lego people have gotten depressed and bitter over the last twenty years, but probably the biggest reason is that Lego people aren't Christians.  I know that life has a way of beating people down.  It teaches them distrust and anger.

In Romans 5, Paul talks about the sufferings of this life and tells the believers to rejoice in their sufferings, because of what those sufferings will produce in their lives.  He sounds a little bit like my mother in the beginning, telling the Christians that they will receive endurance and character from the trials that they experience.  I almost expect the next thing from him to be the statement.  "And furthermore, they will put hair on your chest," but he doesn't say that.

Instead he shares with the Roman Christians that the things they suffer will bring hope.  This is very different from what these things bring in the lives of those who have no hope in Jesus.

For them, life is an uncertain thing, filled with anguish, loss, and in the end despair.  For them, suffering brings no joy and is to be avoided at all costs.

I will do my best to rejoice in suffering and to let my joy show on my face.  For, God's love is demonstrated for me, not just on the good days, but on the days when suffering drives me to His side.