CONFEDERATE MONEY?

Very few of us are unaware of Monday's plunge of the Stock Market in the wake of recent decisions made by Washington leaders and Wall Street investors. Standard advice for most investors in such times is this: "Leave your investments where they are, because this will pass and things will get better again." It's wise counsel for most of us.

A long time ago when there was far less wealth among the faithful, Rabbi Jesus of Nazareth told His disciples, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven." (Matthew 6:19-20) This advice is as good now as it was then.

Imagine you're alive at the end of the Civil War. You are a Northerner but living in the South. You know the end of the war is near, and you plan to move home to the North as soon as the war is over. While in the South you've accumulated some Confederate money. What should you do with it?

Wisdom would dictate you should cash in your Confederate money for Federal money, which will have the only value when the war is over. But you would still keep enough Confederate funds to meet your needs while you are still in the South. To think your Confederate money will still have value after the war is foolish, because you know everything will be different then.

This analogy has meaning for us today. The Bible says there will be a time of upheaval before Satan is defeated and Christ returns to earth, making all things new. No one knows when this will happen. But we do know that all earthly goods we possess will become meaningless when Christ returns, or when we die, whichever comes first. Either event could happen to us at any time.

I am by no means an earthly investment advisor, and I know nothing of investment timing. But the Lord has given us a few trustworthy financial instruments to use while we still live here in the "South." We trust that the Lord will provide for our needs through them, and for that we give Him thanks and praise.

We all should remember that Jesus' forecast for this earth is bleak. He urges us in His Word to invest in things of heaven: faith, hope, love, sharing goods, and helping those in need. In His Holy Word, He instructs us to transfer our trust from things of earth, which are shakey, to the unshakeable things of heaven. Faith in Christ as our Savior is all we need for eternal life. Such faith is totally dependable, insured by God Himself.

There is nothing wrong with having Confederate money, as long as we realize its limits. Don't forget that its value is temporary. To accumulate earthly treasures that we can't possibly hold on to, is equivalent to stockpiling Confederate money even though we know it's about to become worthless.

Storing up earthly treasures cannot bring us heaven, but faith in Christ can.

Rev. Bob Tasler

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