A little theology
Money talks “Our money may be talking so loudly people can’t hear what we say. Think about it. Our money may be shouting our loudest testimonies. “Now, of course, money has no voice of its own. By itself, it has no ability to say anything. It can’t give its own witness. But money is a kind of public-address system. It amplifies and broadcasts our faith and our beliefs. “That’s a startling thing about money. It’s silent until we do something with it. Then it talks. It says something about our priorities. It articulates our theology. It discloses our commitment. It reveals our values. “We can talk until we are blue in the face. We can preach with vigor. We can respond at every testimony meeting. We can use the biblical vocabulary. But maybe, as someone has said, the real story of our Christian dedication is told on the stubs of our old checkbooks. Our money talks. “Money is one of faith’s indicators. It’s an index and a window to the soul. It’s a sounding trumpet. It’s so vocal that it helps nudge us toward confession and repentance. Thank God for money! “Think what our money could be saying to the world!” — John H. Rudy, reprinted from an early edition of The Marketplace. A larger compilation of his columns can be found in his book, Moneywise Meditations: To Be Found Faithful in God’s Audit (Herald Press) The Marketplace July August 2008
Have you ever thought of your job when partaking of communion at church (other, that is, than letting your mind wander)? The late Pope John Paul II saw an implied connection in the Catholic prayer, “We have this bread to offer; which human hands have made.... We have this wine to offer, fruit of the vine and work of human hands.” In his view, the bread of the Lord’s Supper is not just baked dough, not just bodily sustenance, but also “the bread of science, and progress, civilization and culture.” The wine that is poured out and shared also represents the fruits and produce harvested by migrant farm workers, transported by truckers, and stocked and sold by grocers, writes William Droel in his introduction to a new book, Pope John Paul II’s Gospel of Work.
Soft answer staves off bankruptcy Tom is a consultant for an accounting firm that often deals with bankruptcies. With a background in farming he gets called in when agribusiness firms are in trouble. That means emotions can run high, which makes it a timely place for Christian leaven. One day he was assigned to sort out the value of some livestock that was in question. An outside party had rented barn space and services from a farmer who was going to look after and feed its animals to market weight. When the farmer ran into financial problems, the animals and rent agreement became part of a dispute. The owner of the animals wanted the animals out of there if the farmer was going broke, but the farmer dug in his heels and refused. The court-appointed receiver (a nice word for bankruptcy agency) assigned Tom to evaluate the situation. Tom’s boss took a hard-nosed approach. “Let’s bring in the cops and take the animals,” he said. “Whoa,” said Tom, thinking there might be a better way. “Let’s slow down a bit. Let’s let him keep the animals for now, and grow them to market weight. Then they can be sold for a better price, which benefits all parties.” His boss relented, and Tom proceeded. In the end, the original owner of the animals got more money than he would have otherwise; the farmer facing financial distress got some breathing room (and survived), and costly legal action was avoided. By toning down the hostile rhetoric Tom became a peacemaker, producing a win-win-win situation.
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