Cash is king

While showing property to my client, her young daughter said, “I’m going to pay cash for this house.”

“Well, you must have been saving a long time to be able to pay cash. I’m impressed.” 

Then, she handed me a million dollar bill.

I took the million dollar bill and replied, “That should cover it. How would you like your name to appear on the title, Ms.?”

She spelled her name for me. I explained the next steps in the transaction. 

We all had a good laugh. 

***

Later that week, I was traveling and I went into the airport convenience store. I sighed at the long, self-checkout lines.  I reached into my purse to grab a credit card and pulled out the million dollar bill. I smiled at the memory.

A cashier called out, “If you have cash, I can get ya over here.”

There was no one in the cash line. A man walked toward the “cash only” register and I followed.

 As he placed his items on the counter, I asked the cashier, “Can you break a million dollar bill?”

The man chuckled and said, “No lines for us! Cash is king!”

Without missing a beat, the cashier said, “No it’s not!”

The man looked at me puzzled. I shrugged my shoulders.

Then cashier made her proclamation: “Cash is not king…Jesus is King!”

The man said, “Amen!”

We laughed, but the weight of her statement lingered. 

Over the next few weeks, I thought about the false perception that cash is king. I pondered the security of paying cash for a house. I considered my longing for a speedy exit from the crowded lines to avoid waiting.

Do I worship the idols of security and comfort?

How would I know and what would it look like if I didn’t?

Would I stand in the inconvenient line and ask, “Lord, who do I need to encounter? Is a word of encouragement needed? And, is the word for them or for me?” Can I quit dreaming of what monetary security would be like and start focusing on the One who provides ultimate freedom?

My spiritual director Ruth, reminded me comfort and security are good things. It’s when I place them first in my life that they become idols. Then she read me a quote from Timothy J. Keller:

“Idolatry means making a good thing ultimate.” 

So, I’m working becoming more aware of the false gods that I let into my heart. I’m being a watchman…guarding my heart —keeping comfort and security in their rightful place so they remain good things.

And remembering the cashier’s precious reminder:

Jesus is King.

Over EVERYTHING.