Years ago a man I knew sold his old car to a young kid. All excited, the
young man drove away, but was back a few minutes later, on foot. The car had
stalled at the first intersection, and wouldn’t restart, and he was back asking
for help, or his money back. The reply he got was far from what he expected,
“it’s your car, it’s your problem.” This man whom I had respected as a coach, I
now had a whole new opinion of, he had sold his reputation for a few hundred
dollars. But it was even more costly than the money he might have spent, as we
all learned his true heart, and we lost all respect for him. It is sad when
money enters the situation how our attitudes and also our values change.
Buy for love and sell for money is an old mantra, and not only referring to
used cars. We all like to get the best deal, and I have overpaid more than
once, and also got some incredible bargains. I try to operate off the
definition of a good deal, one in which both parties benefit, but the world is
always out for themselves, and many times I am also. Before my open heart
surgery, I used to eat at a place in Bird Rock that sold 99 cent fish tacos,
good fish tacos. In the rush of giving me my change, the young girl gave me
change for a $20 instead of the $10 I had given her. To be honest, I wasn’t
sure if I had given her a 10 or 20, but my conscience was bothering me. And it
did for a week, until I went back the next week, and confronted her. I told her
it was possible that she had given me too much change, and I wanted to return
it. She was amazed, and told me they had come up $10 short in the cash drawer
that afternoon, and being a small family owned business they were concerned.
She was very appreciative, and thanked me. We talked, she wondered why I had
even come back, and I told her it wasn’t about the $10, but about my having to
deal with myself. Would $10 made a difference n my salvation? In my walk with
God? On the outside it may not have shown, but on the inside I would have sold
out my integrity for $10. What would you have done? Would you, have you sold
out for less?
And so we see scripture fulfilled, that the love of money, not just money
is the root of all evil. We cut corners to make ends meet, but yet we don’t
turn to God to start with. Why is it that we trust Jesus to save our souls from
hell, but don’t believe he can take care of our day to day problems? Maybe
sometimes it is easier to believe what we can’t see, than t is to believe what
we can see. When I was younger, a man’s handshake was his bond, his word. Now
we have cleverly worded contracts, that never seem to work out for me. But in
the end do, as all things work for those who love God and are called for his
purpose. His purpose, for us to show love, to be light and life to a dying
world. To be his messenger, for Jesus saves, we don’t. Why is that important,
because when we are saved, we begin to be like Jesus. If we were the one who
saved, the new believer would become like us. Think about it, would you really
want someone to act like you? I don’t. Me included. So take money from the
equation, and see how your attitudes effect your actions. We may all be
surprised.
When we first moved to California, we rented from a man for 7 years. When
he wanted to sell us the house, he gave us an inflated price, fair to him, but
not to us. But being young, we accepted, but then changed our minds, no money
changing hands. And he wouldn’t give us back our last month’s deposit. So we
took him to court, where he claimed we had ruined the yard, and showed
pictures. But so did we, only ours had dates, showing the effects of water
after we moved in. I had prepared a file to win, but the judge took it from me,
he wanted the truth, and from my heart. And it came down to one thing, the
cancelled check showing where I had put the memo “last month’s deposit.” But it
had taken effort, for my bank was in Durango, Colorado, and the check was 7
years old. But calling a lady who worked there, she knew my reputation, and
spent hours trying to find the check, sending me a copy, only a few days before
the records were to be shredded. Handing it to the judge, it was a slam dunk
win, and he pronounced the verdict immediately in our favor. We won! The money
was important, but our integrity was really on trial. Ours was true, the old
landlord got caught in his lies. All over $700. Makes my $10 mistake pale, but
he had sold out. The cost didn’t matter. The end result did.
Today we all will be forced to make decisions with our money. The world
has a great influence on us, usually for their advantage, not ours. Paul tells
us in Corinthians that he will let nothing be master over him, he will be a
slave to no one or no thing, except Christ. And he could say that being under
the power of God, in the spirit. Great men are really no different than us,
they just make the right decisions, the right choices. If God is for us, who
can be against us? Jesus was sold out for 30 pieces of silver, the price of a
slave, have we sold out to him? His price is your life, and he wants to make it
better for us. Those who trust him to save know that, but the daily battle of
trusting him is ever present. Try these steps in your next situation, as
Nehemiah did when faced with rebuilding the walls.
1-Let the deep concern or sorrow take us to prayer, immediately, how sad
when I hear “we did everything else, I guess we should pray.”
2-Give God time to answer, and wait. His timing is critical, and so is his
answer. Why ask if you don’t wait for his answer?
3-Face the facts of the situation honestly and fairly. Let God be the
Master of all your situations. We may not win every battle, but we will win the
war.
Today I win more fights, because I am better at choosing my battles. I go
to Christ quicker, and let him handle it. Be ruled by integrity, and not the
dollar. We are asked “what does it profit a man if he wins the world but loses
his soul?” Is a used car worth your reputation? Will you brag to God what a
great deal you made? Money is just way of trade, but the love of it, is evil.
And many times we pay a huge price for years to come. What is the price of your
reputation? Of your witness? Of the words you say to others? Or are they
tainted by money? Looking out for yourself at the expense of others?
In God we trust, all others pay cash. Or really beware. Let God rebuild
our walls, fix our cars, and change lives in his name. Giving him all the
glory, while he gives us all the blessings. Seek ye first, the kingdom of God,
and then all things will be added unto you. The name on the title of your life,
being written in the Book of Life should make a difference. Does it in yours?
Face your problems with the enemy today, knowing Christ is with you. The
wonderful counselor, whose advice only works if taken. Such a deal he has for
you. What’s in your heart is more important than what is in your wallet. For
Esau it was stew, for me almost a $10 bill. Nehemiah trusted God, do you?
love with compassion,
Mike
matthew25biker.blogspot.com