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 [email protected]