Money does strange things to people. I found this cute little story on the Internet that was carried in the December 1980 issue of Campus Life. (p. 19) It starts by asking: What’s the most outrageous thing you would do for $10,000 cash? The question was posed recently by Chicago radio station WKOX. More than 6,000 full-tilt crazies responded. The eventual winner: Jay Gwaltney of Zionsville, Indiana, who ate an 11-foot birch sapling - leaves, roots, bark and all.
He put away the 11 foot tree at a very formal event. He donned a tux and dined at a table set elegantly with china, sterling, candles and a rose vase. Armed with pruning sheers, the Indiana State University sophomore began chomping from the top of the tree and worked his way, branch by branch, to the roots. His only condiment: French dressing for the massive birch-leaf salad. The culinary feat took 18 hours over a period of three days. When it was all over, Gwaltney complained of an upset stomach. Evidently the bark was worse than his bite.
Money does strange things to people. If you really want to check out the ethical formation of a person – check out the way that person treats money. In our society, money becomes the gauge by which most things are measured. The significance of a person is usually assigned by how much money they have. The importance of person’s vocation is most often measured by how much money that they control or manage. Sadly, even friendships and relationships are often determined by money.
Many years ago, I taught a a small community college. Over the course of several years, another instructor at that school and I developed a close friendship. We’d often collaborate on teaching projects. We socialized together – ate together and even commiserated when we had things that bothered us. My friend had a master’s degree in electrical engineering and he also had a Professional Engineering ticket. I was a pretty fair microcomputer circuit designer. It only seemed natural that we would try to collaborate on a business venture together. And so when the opportunity came to bid on an automotive design project, we took the risk and won the bid.
We were contracted to design a system that would disable the car if the owner dialed a telephone number – sort of like a pager. So if the car was ever stolen, the owner would dial a number. This would send a signal to the stolen car and an audio message would play over the car radio that said: “Stop! Your crime has been cracked! You have 60 seconds to pull the side of the road. In 60 seconds the engine and all ignition functions will be disabled.”
Now listen this was before car alarm systems became commonplace. We were in a wonderful position to make a mint in a brand new market. Because my friend had the PE certification, he was listed as the project manager. The investor advanced 50% of the contract fee to my friend. I got a portion of that fee in order to purchase the items that I would need to design the digital microprocessor circuit that would be the brains of the system. My friend was to design the power circuits and the interface to the ignition and radio circuits of the car.
I finished my part of the project ahead of schedule. My circuit met all the design objectives. I turned it over to my friend and I was looking forward to getting the other 50% of my fee, which actually represented the profit. Only one hitch… my friend had never designed power circuits for an automotive environment. He couldn’t quite get it right. Picture the scene, the investor is there. We are to demonstrate the prototype. But instead of, “Stop! Your crime has been cracked!” – we got lots of sparks and blue smoke from the power and interface circuits. Not a good thing when you are trying to convince the investor to sign off on the prototype. The investor had lots of – ‘impressive’ - things to say – because of money.
Well, listen, when I asked my friend to pay me for the work I had done, he refused. He said that the investor had backed out. I said, “Hey, I met my side of the deal. All design objectives for the microprocessor circuit were met.” He said to me, “Tough. I didn’t get paid and you won’t either.” It was at about that time that I learned that money can affect relationships. Before it was all said and done, my friend and I stopped socializing, stopped collaborating and stopped talking with each other. Money does strange things to people.
A young man with many possessions came to Jesus. From all outward appearances, he seemed to be a good guy. The passage from Mark says that his young man ran up to Jesus and knelt in front of him. He had obviously heard about Jesus. He wanted to be in relationship with Him. He wanted to make sure of his eternal destiny. And so He asked Jesus, “Good Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?” He seemed to have his heart in the right place.
Jesus understood this young man’s problem. He challenged the young man’s perception of reality. He pointed the young man to the law because Jesus was aware that the young man’s heart was not quite ready to receive the Gospel. Surprisingly the young man responded by saying that the law is no big deal. “I’ve obeyed all these commandments since I was a boy,” He said to Jesus.
“Ah, yes! But you lack just one thing,” said Jesus. “Sell everything you have. Give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then follow me!” The young man’s countenance fell. He went away sad because he was a very wealthy man. Money does strange things to people, doesn’t it? It gets in the way of relationships – even a relationship with Jesus.
An idealist perceives the world through a highly refined ethical system. Reality not withstanding, the idealist filters what happens around them by fairly lofty expectations and notions. When idealistic expectations are shattered by reality, the idealist has his hopes dashed and spends much of his or her time trying to sort out what went wrong.
Admittedly, I am one of those people. As a lay person, I was very, very nervous venturing into the sacristy. When I received communion, my hands would shake as I received the true blood from the common cup. Coming into the Nave was something I did with great care and approaching the Altar was done with great respect. It wasn’t entirely fear, even though fear was a part of it. It wasn’t that I didn’t think that people shouldn’t approach those areas - it was that I thought that I shouldn’t approach those areas.
Why? The same reason that kept me from going into full time ministry – a sense that I could never be good enough to serve as a pastor; A sense that I was tainted and unworthy; A sense that I wasn’t keen enough or empathetic enough or even courageous enough to shepherd God’s people. You see, I was good at making money for my boss. I managed millions of dollars of resources, both people and infrastructure. I was well compensated. I owned a nice big home and drove nice cars. And I liked it. And so I thought that I was too much of a sinner to be a pastor – an under-shepherd of Jesus. Money does strange things to people.
My old mentor, Eugene, Iggie, Gruell would not let things be. He pressed. It was at a district convention years ago that it all came to a head. When I shared with him that I felt that I was too much of sinner to even consider going into the ministry, he invited me to come meet some of the other sinners at the district convention. He introduced me to all these sinners that had been pastors for many years. He even introduced me to a number of sinners that had retired from pastoral ministry. Years later, we sit here together, sinners saved by grace co-laborers with Christ in the Kingdom.
The ethics of ministry and money still drives me crazy. I don’t understand why inner city urban ministries languish while our middle class church flees to the suburbs. I don’t understand why LCMS clergy, and all clergy for that matter, can unite when our housing allowance tax deduction is threatened, but we can’t seem to come together for the sake of the Gospel. I don’t understand why we can join forces to engage in a letter-writing campaign to help preserve the tax-exemption on religious property, but we can’t seem to agree whether it’s ok to proclaim the Gospel in the public square. “And take they our life, goods, fame, child, and wife, let these all be gone…” (a quote from the hymn A Mighty Fortress) Really? Really? Really? Money does strange things to people, doesn’t it beloved? It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a man preoccupied with money to enter heaven.
But thanks be to God that Jesus Christ does even more incredible things. What is impossible for us, is not impossible for God. He takes a publican named Matthew Levi and turns him into an Apostle. He takes a fellow who was more interested in the letter of the law – like Saul – and turns him into an Apostle. He has taken a host of wealthy men and women throughout history, turns them into disciples and has converted their gift at making money into channels of blessings for the Kingdom. He’s even taken you and me – warts and all, and turned us into pastors.
The forgiveness that Jesus won through his Cross and Resurrection does strange things, doesn’t it beloved? It changes hearts and minds. It brings the power of God to bear on our lives and changes our focus from money to the riches of God’s glory; the riches of God’s wisdom; the riches of his grace and the riches of his mercy. With God, nothing is impossible! Wow! Jesus’ forgiveness sure does strange things! Amen!
