Perfect Timing
"Do not lay up for yourselves
treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves
break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven,
where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break
in and steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be
also. -- Matthew 6:19-21
In comedy, timing is everything. And
if God were a comic, he'd be outstanding. On a Saturday as we were
leaving a friend's home in Indianapolis I realized my wallet was
missing. Couldn't find it anywhere. As Joan drove us south to
Bloomington to see Emily and Jordan, I made hasty cell phone calls to
cancel six credit and debit cards. I also contemplated the hassle of
getting a replacement drivers license, and AAA and Kroger cards.
However, I barely thought about the cash I had lost. I wasn't sure
how much I was carrying, but I had reassured Joan and our
Indianapolis host that I wasn't concerned that much about the cash,
compared to the vulnerability of the lost credit cards. Joan agreed.
Of course, when we unpacked at Emily
and Jordan's the wallet reappeared from deep within a duffel bag
pocket. I was grateful, dismissing the wasted time and effort
canceling cards and inconvenience of waiting for replacements. I
barely thought about the cash.
In fact, the next time I gave my
recovered money a thought was in church the next morning. I picked up
an envelope from the pew holder to make a small contribution to
Bloomington First UMC, and opened my wallet to pull out a few bucks
just as Pastor Mark opened the service with a teaser about the theme
of his sermon. He said, "Most of us are richer than we think.
Look at what you have versus what you really need – like the shoes
in your closet or the food in your refrigerator. The gap between
those two shows what you could give away and never really miss."
But I didn't have to think about the
shoes in my closet, nor the contents of my 'fridge. The gap was there
in my wallet and I was looking right at it. I couldn't deny it
because I had said it myself less than 24-hours earlier, "I'm
not worried about the lost cash." I had openly admitted that
those ones and fives, and a few twenties had not been essential to my
life. I had written them off. Said they weren't a big concern. But,
there they were. Not lost. Not committed. And not really needed, at
least by me.
As you might expect, God the
Almighty Comic had been perfect in his timing. I almost laughed out
loud as my wallet thinned and the envelope thickened.
Bob Rossbach
No comments:
Post a Comment