Currency

So, what is your measure of currency?

Max and I tend to measure the worth of something by how it measures up to things that we really love or desire.

For instance, when we talk about our friends and their love of cruising the high seas, Max will remind me that a $2000 ticket is a high-end lens for him. When Leica needed to be at the emergency room overnight because she ate some gum with Xylitol and I paid the bill, Max took one look at it and didn't want to tell me that the first thing that crossed his mind was that it was the cost of a decent lens.

Max measures the worth of items against his passion - photography.

The other night, I cancelled an order for a $20 battery for my Kindle. I thought my present battery was in trouble, so in my haste I placed the order. I discovered later that it was fine. When I cancelled the order, I laughed at Max and told him that now I could purchase 3 books. I measured the worth of an item against the cost of books - my passion. (I can get a lot more books than he can get lenses.)

When I was growing up, mom always measured the worth of extravagant items against the need for clothes for the three of us kids or school needs. She didn't buy too many new clothes for herself until we were much older.

The Bible tells us that where our treasure is - our heart resides. Preachers love to use this passage during pledge drives to guilt parishioners into releasing the tight grip they have on their wallets. Is my passion the church? Not really.

Mothers take care of their children's needs, fathers take care of the home and the needs of their family, spouses take care of the needs of each other, friends give to friends, businesses take care of the needs of their customers and employees (honorable businesses, at least).

But, the passage in Luke that this idea comes from is not about giving to the church (or any other charity) it's about letting God provide for us. If we stock up on possessions and stuff and money, we are showing little faith in Him. If we are worrying about our 'stuff,' we can't be enjoying the relationship with God.

God does call us to set aside earthly things in pursuit of Him. But, I suppose that the reason He has to say it over and over and over again in His Word is because He also knows that we are so very human and that we will always place our desire of objects and self and our passions and our children and our home and our (insert your own thing here) above our desire to spend time with Him.

Where does your treasure lie?