I don’t want to admit how debit-card-dependent I am. It’s getting embarrassing. One day not too long ago I couldn’t find my card. I looked everywhere all afternoon. Even by the next morning there was still no trace of the thing. I searched high and low, near and far. I even searched under the sofa cushions. That was a little scary. I found 37 cents, three marbles, a T-shirt (how had we ignored that lump?), seven M&M’s, a screwdriver, my favorite sunglasses, and the TV remote (hey, we’d been looking for that thing). But no card.
I rifled through my purse for the gazillionth time. Even though I’d already looked there, it was still scary enough. There was a ball of purse fuzz in there that looked like a gerbil. I must admit I perked up a little when I found the rest of those M&M’s. There were also enough breath mints in there to freshen a platoon and at least four different shades of nail polish—all hiding among a ream of receipts I would never need. But still no card.
I checked our bank account online to make sure no one had used the rogue card. Nope, no extra charges. Still, I was just this side of panic.
Why is it I wait until panic starts to set in before I remember where I really need to turn? Finally I thought, “I’ll have my quiet time with the Lord and then I can take up the hunt again, hopefully with more peace, less panic.”
I opened my Bible and guess what fell out! My card! I knew I had marked my place the day before, I just hadn’t realized I used my card to do it. I had absentmindedly stuck it between the pages. That was a weird move spiritually and financially.
What a lesson my Father taught me about where I should run first. I found such treasure in the pages of his Word that morning. And believe it or not, the real treasure was not even card-related. Psalm 119:14-16 says it best: “I rejoice in following your statutes as one rejoices in great riches. I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways. I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word.”
Debit cards may come and go, but true riches are from the wisdom found in knowing our magnificent Lord. Wisdom and understanding are found in the pages of his Word. And, as Psalm 49:30 says it, “A man who has riches without understanding is like the beasts that perish”. That means I can have all the debit cards and all the riches in the world, but unless I have the treasure of the wisdom that comes from knowing Christ, I’m no better off than a dead purse gerbil.
Our wealth is only in Jesus and only because of Jesus—all glory to him. So let’s give credit where credit is due. Or debit where debit is due. Whichever fits.
Rhonda Rhea
Author, speaker, mom
rrhea@juno.com