The Flog – The Fabry Log

Robert is a good friend who has given permission for me to excerpt the blog he wrote about the $100 bill. I hope it blesses you.
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Finally did it. Called a real estate agent today to come and give me the details about putting my house on the market. Sad. But it's gotta be done. Even my part-time gigs are slowing down.

Please do not take this wrong, but God has clearly demonstrated to me that He is not terribly concerned with my financial state. Not that He doesn't care. Surely He does. It's just that I am WAY more freaked out about it than He is.
(Hmmm. Maybe He knows something that I don't?)

Here's what happened. (I don't have to say "honest," do I? You cannot make up lives like mine.) I called a friend at church because I wanted to sell some Bible commentaries (William Hendriksen) that I had in my library. Great books. Read them years ago and deeply appreciated both the scholarship and presentation. My friend told me he'd ask around to try to find a buyer. We thought $140 would be a good price for the incomplete set.

Bingo! Not long afterward, I had my $140 cash (no, I didn't count it...but I did see a couple of $20 bills). I handed the books over (along with a couple of similar volumes from other authors for good measure). Got paid on a Sunday after church. On my way out of the building, I saw an old friend and his wife. Their lives have been ground into the dirt in the 17+ years I've known them. The husband has bounced from one job to another, battled alcohol, his wife no longer speaks well, due to several strokes; she cannot walk but her husband transports her and her wheelchair to church most every Sunday. They're only in their 50s.

I reached into my pocket, palmed a $20 bill and reached out to shake my friend's hand. I did it that way so no one would know that I was giving him a gift. (I'm not the kind to tell the whole world about my giving, you know.) He looked into his hand and began telling me what a wonderful friend I have been and how he hopes that I get a job someday and that I don't end up drinking rubbing alcohol, getting beat up in gutters and alleys by preppy punks high on crack and dumpster-diving to eat. (Or words to that effect, but that's what he meant.) He was really glad to get that 20, boy.

So, I get home a little while later feeling all fluffy and warm and I clean out my pockets. All I could find was $40. Hmmmm. Let's see. I'm not good at higher math (numbers with decimals and more than three or four zeros) but I can add and subtract using a hand-held calculator. I knew I had $140. I gave one bill away to a VERY grateful man. Now, I had $40 left. Being limited to a mere 20 fingers and toes, and being alone, I decided to sit down and try to figure this out logically.

Now, I'm not as quick as you are but it finally hit me that I had just popped this guy a $100 bill. That was money I really needed. Even more than I needed my dusty Bible commentaries. Did I cry or rage? Nope. I just laughed. Honest. What a dope! I had the "peace" that God knew my friend and his wife needed the money more than I needed it. Besides, I have plenty left and they might not have anything. In fact, they probably don't.

That's why I don't think God is too worried about my finances. Not that He doesn't care, but He certainly indicated (I believe) that the money was better off in someone else's pocket than mine.

Now, you might think this is silly or loony, or freakish theology. Yes, it was my mistake. All I had to do was look at what I was giving my friend before I handed it to him. Simple error. Or, the kindness of the Lord to a person in major need from a person in minor need.

Wanna hear the funniest part? I only wanted to give $20, not $100. So, I won't even get heavenly credit for the whole amount! I lost 80 "brownie dollars"! And now that I've told you, I won't even get the points for giving in secret. But, I don't care. I don't give to get points. And maybe this will help you someday, when something similar happens to you. You can say, "Dang, I sure was stupid to have lost that $20 bill today! But at least I'm not as dumb as the guy who gave away that $100 bill instead of what he thought was a twenty!"