M is for MONEY

So how important is money to you? I got this story from an Australian author, Paul Jennings, whose writings I was introduced to by my friend from down under. I've read it countless times to my class and nothing better illustrates the importance of money than this story. Here's a brief resume. I hope you enjoy it but I hope it makes you think.

There once was a busker who played and sang for money outside the rail station and in the town streets. He had a little dog called Tiny, that used to walk around with a hat held in his mouth and would sometimes stand on its back legs. People threw money into the hat and said lots of nice things about Tiny and the busker soon came to realise that they didn't like his music at all but only gave money because of his pet. He became so annoyed and angry that he took Tiny home and put him down a dry well in his back garden. For weeks Tiny lived in the darkness, always looking up in the hope that his master would pull him out and though he fed him by throwing down scraps, Tiny remained down the well. When the busker finally decided to get him out and lowered the bucket, Tiny didn't know how to get into it so it had to stay for another few days until the busker got a rope ladder made and climbed down to get him. When Tiny emerged his head was bent upwards, looking at the sky, because he had spent weeks with it in that position, gazing towards the top of the well.

Then everything changed. The busker won the lottery and with some of the money he bought everything he wanted and lived in luxury. But he was still unhappy because he had no friends. So he decided on a plan. HE set up a tent in his garden and put a notice outside saying that he would be giving away one dollar to everyone who came. Lots of children saw the notice and when they came inside, he gave each a dollar and they ran out. But one little girl said thanks so he gave her two dollars and the next one, on seeing this, said what a kind man he was and she got two dollars also. The busker was very impressed when they said nice things about him but the people in the queue suddenly realised that the more nice things they said, the more money they got. Within days the queue stretched for over a mile, people camped overnight so as not to lose their place in the queue, there were ice cream vans along the way and the odd hot food van and a television crew even came to interview him. People were receiving up to two hundred dollars each for saying really nice things and some had even made up songs about him and chanted his name calling him 'good old Mr. Busker.'

But one day, the money ran out. He had nothing more left and no more money to give. He put up a sign to tell people and the word soon filtered along the queue that stretched for several miles. Happiness and goodwill turned to anger and the busker lifted Tiny and ran into the house but the mob chased after him. He knew he was in great danger so he ran into his back garden and climbed down the well. The disgruntled crowd ransacked his house, wrecked anything they left and slowly filtered away but someone had untied the rope ladder and thrown it down into the well, not realising that the one they were seeking was far below in the darkness. He called out for help but there was nobody to hear him - except Tiny. For weeks, he survived by licking the water from the damp walls and by eating the scraps that his little dog would gather, drag over to the well and push down into the darkness. Then one day no scraps fell down and the next few days were the same. The busker's strength was almost gone and as he made one last valiant effort to be heard he saw what looked like a face far above. It was a worker who had noticed a little bundle lying in the corner, came to investigate and heard his cries. When they brought him up out of the well, he called for his little dog but Tiny was already dead, having given everything so that his master might survive. He buried him in the garden and realised that true friendship is not found through money.

It's a sad story but no more sad than that of the prodigal son who similarly found that real friends don't desert you when money does. Yet this story has a happy ending for his father didn't reject him when he returned home penniless, but accepted him back into his family. Jesus told this story to remind us that whether it be money, fame, vices, sinful pleasures or anything else that keeps us from God, if we are willing to change and forsake all we have done and realise how wrong we have been, He will always accept us into His family and rejoice over our homecoming. Paul writes in his letter to Timothy ' For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.' Do you get the message. It's not the money itself but the love of it that does the damage.

So how important is money to you? Jesus says 'No one can serve two masters.'