"Is that God?"

I was reading Adam Faughn's blog yesterday and he told a story about his little girl and teaching her about giving. His story reminded me of one with our daughter. Emma is 3 years old and my wife often gives her some money to put in the collection plate. When she does, she tells Emma, "it's time to give our money to God." Well one Sunday she had told Emma that after giving her a dollar. While they were waiting for the men to arrive with the collection plates, Emma looked at the dollar, saw George Washington's picture on it and asked, "Is that God?"

There's a pretty good lesson there for us. How many people look at a dollar and think it is God? They love money, they live for money, they sacrifice their time and sometimes their relationships for money--money is their God. I'm pretty sure this is the reason Paul said that covetousness is idolatry (Colossians 3:5).

I don't know how long it has been this way in American culture, but for a long time success has been equated with the accumulation of wealth. The more money you have, the more successful you are. Many people think they are better than others just because they have more money than they do. We need to be reminded of Paul's warning: "For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows" (1 Timothy 6:10, NKJV). Is it even necessary in today's world to enumerate the kinds of sorrows that result from a love for money? We've all seen too much evidence of the truthfulness of this statement to deny it. Everything from violent crime to broken homes is often tied directly to a love for money.

Here's another object lesson from a dollar bill that might be wise for everyone to consider. On the back of a dollar bill is a picture of an eagle with its wings outstretched. Whenever you see that eagle, think of Proverbs 23:5

Will you set your eyes on that which is not?
For riches certainly make themselves wings;
They fly away like an eagle toward heaven.