But knowing their hypocrisy, [Jesus] said to them, “Why are you putting me to the test? Bring me a denarius and let me see it.” And they brought one. Then he said to them, “Whose head is this and whose title?” They answered, “Caesar’s.” Jesus said to them, “Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s.” And they were utterly amazed at him.
Mark 12 15-17 NRSVue
When Peter said, “From others,” Jesus said to him, “Then the children are free. However, so that we do not give offense to them, go to the sea and cast a hook; take the first fish that comes up, and when you open its mouth you will find a coin; take that and give it to them for you and me.”
Matthew 17: 26--27 NRSVue
I'm definitely showing my age when I admit that as a kid finding a nickel or a dime meant sugary treasure at the corner store. In the early 60s even a penny bought three black balls. Did we like black balls? It didn't really matter because they cost so little.
Children of that era figured out quickly that coins were valuable and paper money was wealth. When the one-dollar "loonie" was introduced almost 40 years ago it felt that we were going backward initially, then we all got accustomed to both loonies and toonies. We have moved ever closer to a cashless society anyway, using cards and devices to make our payments in even the remotest of settings. Our eleven-year-old entrepreneur granddaughter accepts e-transfers for her crocheted creations although she still hits up Grandpa for folding money from time to time.
I'm intrigued by a new exhibit called As Good as Gold outlining the history of money in this country. According to the Globe and Mail article:
Most of us don’t carry a lot of cash in our wallets these days, given the ubiquity of credit and debit transactions. Change feels like a dead weight. But an exhibit by Toronto-Dominion Bank, which features currency used over the past 230 years, offers a rare historical glimpse into a world that is slipping away.
As Good As Gold: The TD Bank Currency Collection is an exhibit held in – where else? – a steel-reinforced vault at the bank’s headquarters in Toronto. It includes early pre-Confederation promissory notes from merchants, grocery stores and lumber companies, dating as far back as 1790.
The first Canadian currency arrives in 1851, when each dollar was backed by gold. From there, paper notes become increasingly ornate to reflect their nation-building role in establishing trade, trust and commerce.
Cool. As I read about the exhibit I wondered about money in the New Testament and realized that even though peasant cultures tend to be barter based there are a fair number of money and cash references, including the warning above.
We do depend on moolah to make our societies function and some amass staggering amounts they will never actually see while others beg on street corners or play instruments behind open instrument cases for cash. Churches may be heavenly minded but they are down to earth in seeking financial support and, yes, many have made generosity easier in a number of ways. And we're told that God loves a cheerful giver!
The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
2 Corinthians 9: 6-7 NRSVue
Then one of the twelve, whose name was Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, “What will you give me if I deliver him over to you?” And they paid him thirty pieces of silver. And from that moment he sought an opportunity to betray him.
Matthew 14: 14-16 NRSVue
Elon Musk becomes a trillionaire (briefly) earlier this month
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