I can remember when the lottery first came to Georgia, there was a joke circulating.

It went something like this. A man calls home and says, “Honey, I just won the lottery for four million dollars; pack your bags!” She replies, “Should I pack to go north or south, east or west, hot climate, or cold climate?” He responds with “pack to go anywhere you wish, I'm outta here.”

A somewhat humorous but tragic story. Just for the sake of discussion, what if you, for what ever reason, did come into a lot of money? What would you change? Would you want to be able to break all the 10 commandments all at once or just one at a time, or none at all?

Seriously think about it for a moment. Would the money immediately go to continuous luxury? Would you start not speaking to your old friends? What would change?

I asked this question while substituting at one of the Fayette County high schools. I couched it in “What are your goals in life?” Several students said, “I want to retire by the time I'm 30.” I was thinking how this philosophy flies into the face of the Scriptures, which state, “If you lose your life for my sake, you find it and if you try to keep your life, you lose it.”

I wrote an article entitled “Where Have all the Givers Gone?” In it I wrote of how difficult it was to find land to build upon for our church. As I searched for a location, I was reminded of how it was in the past where people would have been honored to have even donated the land in honor of some Godly family member who had gone on to be with the Lord.

But I'm told, “It's not that way anymore.”

How much money would it take for you to desert your wife or husband and children? It is said that everyone has a price. Is this true with you? How much would it take for you to sell out everything you now hold to be sacred and true? What would you do with all that money?

John 16:24-26 says: “Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. For what is man profited, if he gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?”

Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? How about one million? Two million? Eight million? One hundred million? How much will it take for you? Do you have a price?

The Rev. Dr. Knox Herndon is the pastor of His House Community Church (SBC) and a substitute school teacher in the Fayette County school system, and a former Army chaplain. The church is currently meeting in the American Legion Log Cabin across from the fountain on the Square in Fayetteville. Prayer line 770-719-2365; e-mail Khern2365@aol.com

Back to News Home Page | Back to the top of the page