A Bible and A Quarter
By Dennis Love
McDowell County
Here is a little experiment I want you to check out for yourself. All you will need is a Bible and a quarter.
Got them? Ok……….
Put the Bible on a table or a countertop in front of you. Now closely inspect the quarter. Make sure there are no holes in it, and it has the right dead President on it. NOW, stand back about three feet from your Bible while holding the quarter in your right hand between your thumb and index finger. While looking at your Bible, close your left eye.
Slowly lift the quarter in front of your face, holding it at arm’s length between you and your Bible. Now slowly bring the quarter towards your open right eye. Bring it closer and closer until it almost covers your right eye.
Ok, now the observations.
Notice when you had the quarter at arm’s length you could still easily see your Bible. And notice how the closer you brought that quarter to your eye, the less of your Bible you could see. And I would guess that at some point that quarter completely covered your Bible so that you could not see it at all. That is, unless your quarter has holes in it, or you cheated.
Ok, now the conclusion.
Without a doubt, we all need money. It’s a part of this world that we live in and there is nothing wrong with us getting it, having it, or using it. But I hope that you see from this simple illustration that we need to keep it in the proper perspective in our lives.
If money is all we desire, all we think about, all we hope for, then it will eventually blind us from the things of God and many other important things as well. However, if we keep it in its proper place in our hearts and minds, then we can get it, have it, and use it, and it will not affect our relationship with God or others.
The Lord knows that we tend to get all funny when it comes to money. This is why He gives us a clear and loving warning about it in 1 Timothy 6:9-10.
“But people who long to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.”
If you can learn the lesson of keeping a quarter at arm’s length, then you will be well on your way to keeping money in its rightful place, while at the same time keeping your eyes on God!
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Dr. Dennis Love is the Associational Missions Strategist for the Blue Ridge Baptist Association in McDowell County. Dr. Love has been in full-time ministry work for 31 years. He and his wife Vicki have been married for almost 42 years, and they have lived in Marion for almost 8 years. They have two sons, four grandchildren and two step-grandchildren. He can be reached via email at: dlovebrba@yahoo.com
Read more of his Christian news articles here
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