Dumber Numbers

There’s plenty that I don’t understand. How do video cameras turn people into x’s and o’s, send them electronically over air and then transform back into an image I can recognize on my TV? How does the Space Shuttle lift off like a rocket, land like an airplane, and how can it possibly ride piggy back on another airplane? And I really don’t get economic theory, cash flow, and projected earnings. Okay, I understand simple projected earnings – I plan to keep working in the same job and with stable funding I should be paid, and I should be able to pay for xyz. But it’s the invisible money part I can’t grasp. They are just numbers on a page. I have direct deposit from my employer, which sends numbers to our bank, who adds it to other numbers representing money, and they send me back a page with numbers showing how many cents I have, then we send numbers to different companies. For the most part we only use paper money for a few, small items or fast food, with check writing becoming uncommon, instead using debit cards or (dum, dum, dum) credit cards. So the reality of money I hold in my hand equaling those numbers on a page is becoming even harder for me to relate. I know enough to try and not overextend, shop for sales, and watch out for impulse buying, but it’s the numbers with extra commas and extra 0’s that boggle my mind. Just this week alone the numbers are unfathomable. The numbers used during the financial bailout; the numbers that pay for the hurricane housing relief for those who are waiting to return home, for those who can; and the numbers that pay for political progress. That’s all on top of the other numbers used daily to pay for the millions of federal workers, our national protection, our schools, transportation and social programs… We put so much trust in those numbers on a page; it’s interesting that our printed money has “In God We Trust.” The phrase started being printed on coins after the unsettling times of the Civil War, and on paper money during the Cold War. Maybe we’ll find some way to add the phrase to our electronic receipts and print outs as we adjust to having less printed money. Even though we are supposed to have confidence in our economy, after a financial week like this, maybe it should read “We Can Only Trust in God.”

My prayer for the congregation?

Dear God, We need to put our trust in you. We find ourselves placing money as our figurehead, the starting point for what we do, where we live, how we make decisions, and who we want to become. As with so many false lords, we are left with more questions, and less satisfaction at the end of the day. Let us be responsible stewards of our gifts and resources, conserving and preserving these interests for future generations. Let us return again to putting our full trust in you and restoring your kingdom to its rightful Lord. Amen.