Money, money, money

No, I'm actually not thinking about money today, but the word itself has been on my mind. It's stewardship time at church and that tends to be the time when we hear that our money is just so much of a barrier to God, but the church could really use it and maybe it's not really much of a barrier to institutions. It just seems so incongruous to me.

Of course, I agree that money for money's sake is hollow. And some of us, me included, at times hold onto material possessions for fear of a barren future, for fear of not having enough for our children or ourselves in our old age.

Fear. That's the barrier. I like to think that money is to use, not only for ourselves, our well-being and hopefully happiness, but also for the good of mankind. Maybe we can spread our good fortune to those who are in need. Maybe we can learn to give without looking for the payback.

I have fears. I am beginning to see that our church has fears, too, and that institutions are less able to deal with them in a spiritual way. Why that is, I am not sure. It could be that the goals are so important that they obliterate the reasons we have set those goals.

Oh what the heck. Let's all give up money and take communion on the roadside.