Seeking $990,000 in Change

           Did you hear about the man in Lexington, North Carolina, who tried to fool a Wal-Mart cashier by buying a few hundred dollars worth of items using a one million dollar bill? Of course, the one million dollar bill was counterfeit.

            Somehow, the clerk sensed that something was awry. It might have been when the gentleman asked for more than $999,000 in change! Thinking quickly, the Wal-Mart employee called authorities and Michael Fuller was arrested.

            This story has gotten a lot of play on the Internet and in the media. With the largest bill currently in circulation being that of the $100 amount, it is easy to question how in the world Mr. Fuller could have expected to function in a culture with a proposed currency being so obviously out of whack.

            Unfortunately, he is not alone. I would argue that most people in our culture have a view of money that is out of whack. We place too high a value on the dollar amount, even when it is a real, legitimate, and government-backed currency. $100 does not buy nearly as much life as many of us think.

            I believe that was what Jesus meant when he said, "No one can serve two masters. The person will hate one master and love the other, or will follow one master and refuse to follow the other. You cannot serve both God and worldly riches” (Mt. 6:24.) NCV

Serving God and Mammon

            Back in 2004, Steve Rushin had an interesting take on athletes and materialism in the magazine SPORTS ILLUSTRATED. Attending the NBA All-Star game—that year in Los Angeles—Rushin noted in an article entitled “Amens and Amaretto”:

            Jesus said, "Ye cannot serve both God and mammon," but that didn't stop everyone from trying during NBA All-Star week in Los Angeles, where Magic Johnson took the stage of the Shrine Auditorium and said earnestly, after a three-hour tribute in his honor, "First I want to thank God, but also American Express."

            It was like that all week in L.A., God and money intersecting, sometimes literally, as in the gold cross of diamonds that dangled from the neck of  Indiana Pacers forward-center Jermaine O'Neal. Or the silver cross of  diamonds that accessorized the Kobe Bryant jersey worn by TV's Laverne, actor-director Penny Marshall…

            My concern is not for the ones in the story. For all I know, they may have changed. My concern is, how much do their attitudes reflect mine?