Several years ago, while visiting with my little preschool granddaughter, I was going to give her some money. But then I decided use it as an opportunity to teach her about money values. So I handed her all the coin denominations, you know, penny, nickel, dime, quarter, etc. Together we added up the total. I then offered her a one dollar bill and told her she could have the coins, which had a nice little jingle to them and some weight in her little hand, or she could have the piece of green paper that did nothing.
Bailey hesitated briefly and then shrugged her tiny shoulders and said, “Money doesn’t matter, Daddy always takes care of me.” We laughed together and I agreed with her and handed her all the money.
Recently that scenario has played out very vividly in my mind. We are living in a period of time across the world, in which many items of common use are sometimes scarce and hard to find. It doesn’t really matter if you have all the money you need to purchase something – it simply may not be available at any price. When something isn’t to be had, all the money in this world cannot purchase it. When your health is failing, money cannot buy it back. When issues are tearing apart family relationships, all your money cannot put that family unit back together.
People will often barter their love and their family for the god of money and what it will buy them. But truthfully, at some point those items that money can buy will vanish and become of no value to you. It has been correctly stated, “You’ll never see a hearse pulling a moving trailer.” As the funeral procession slowly made its way toward the cemetery, one man turned to another and pondered, “I wonder how much he left behind?” To which his friend replied, “All of it.”
Real values in life are made up of memories, relationships, love, knowing God and trusting Him to care for you in the nasty here and now, and also in the sweet bye and bye. I think my four year old granddaughter was wise beyond her years with her trusting answer, “Money doesn’t matter, Daddy always takes care of me.”
The Bible says, “I’ve never seen the righteous forsaken or His seed begging for bread.” Another Scripture says, “Don’t lay up treasure where moth and rust corrupts, and thieves can steal.”
Lay up treasure in heaven, where “My Daddy takes good care of me.”
We are Dr. Andy & Renie Bowman, authors of the nationally syndicated "CoffeeTime Column" and hosts of popular podcast "CoffeeTime with Andy & Renie Bowman". 