For the Love of Money
I thought it would be a good idea to sell my son’s 1988 Mazda RX7 on the internet. The car was in perfect shape except for one minor detail—the engine was ruined due to overheating. I listed it on AutoTrader.com, including a picture and an asking price of $989.
I was anxious to sell the car since it was sitting on a side street in Salem in danger of being towed. So, I was extremely thankful when Ian Smith from Canada called and expressed great interest in the car. I did wonder why a guy with a name like Ian Smith would have such a foreign-sounding accent, but no matter, he wanted the car and I wanted to sell the car. We negotiated over the phone with me agreeing to take $900 for the car. He said that he would send me a cashier’s check and would arrange for the car to be transported to Canada. I didn’t tell him that I was thinking about having the car towed away and sold for $50! I was thrilled that the car was about to be sold for close to the price I was asking.
Carole and I were in an airport terminal when my son excitedly called me up and told me that Ian’s cashier’s check had arrived but that it was for $2,900! I wondered if he had misunderstood me but I didn’t think so. I also wondered why Ian would be so trusting of a perfect stranger. With these thoughts in mind, I immediately called him on my cell phone. He told me that the extra $2,000 was for shipping and he tried to explain what to do over the phone. Yet, I was in an extremely busy airport and Ian’s accent was so heavy that I told him that I could not hear him and asked him to e-mail his instructions. He sounded disappointed but agreed to do so. I told him because he had made the check out to me, I would not be able to do anything with the check until I was home.
Something just didn’t seem right! I examined the check when I arrived home (just about the first thing I did) and it looked very good—just like I imagined a cashier’s check should look like without having seen that many of them. I went to the bank to deposit the check and explained to the teller what had happened. I asked her if she could put a flag on the check in case something was wrong with it. She instead suggested that I speak to the branch manager.
The branch manager agreed that something was odd. He said that the check looked authentic to him but that it should be “checked” out to see if it was real. He told me of many such situations where people received fraudulent cashier’s checks. A cashier’s check is usually deposited almost immediately to your account. It can take upwards of a month to discover that the check is bad. He told me that many people adamantly insist that the check is good and sometimes deliberately deposit the check knowing it might be bad. Ultimately, they are responsible for the amount but it also costs the bank a great deal of money, especially if they fight to have the check recognized. He thanked me for checking with him first.
The next week I learned that the check was indeed bad. I have never heard from Ian again since I talked to him on the cell phone in the airport. The check is somewhere in the fraud division of Wells Fargo. I am not exactly sure how Ian would have gotten the extra money. Certainly, he didn’t want a Mazda with a bad engine! We have subsequently sold the Mazda to someone who lived in Salem and had cash!
I learned something more than the dangers of Internet fraud through this episode. I really wanted that check to be good and the car to be sold! I wasn’t tempted to keep the extra money but I experienced a subtle temptation to deposit the check and hope for the best! I could see how people could easily fall for this sort of thing even when it sounds too good to be true. Ian was clever in that the amount he sent wasn’t so large that it would raise immediate warning flags. It was more like one of the tiny flies I used to use when fly fishing, size 22, barely large enough to thread the eye of the hook but still sufficient enough to catch the fish. I could have been Ian’s fish!
I am reminded of Paul’s words to Timothy in 1 Tim. 6:6-10 (NASB):
6 But godliness actually is a means of great gain, when accompanied by contentment. 7 For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either. 8 And if we have food and covering, with these we shall be content. 9 But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith, and pierced themselves with many a pang.
My experience reminded me that I needed to guard against the love of money in my life. Love for it can arise so subtly and craftily. Such a love can result in evil much more serious than being bilked out of a few dollars. Paul warns that it will even cause some to wander away from the faith. We need to develop our contentment and guard against the love of money.
Along these lines, I recently read an excellent article about pastors and money by H.B. London in the Pastor’s Weekly Briefing. You can subscribe to the e-mail newsletter at www.parsonage.org/forms/subscriptions.cfm. Here is the article:
THE PASTOR AND MONEY
“Do we have a deal for you!”
I read a story the other day that profiled the alleged mishandling of funds by a pastor of a large church. It had to do with the misuse of a church credit card. Another case that was noted had to do with a pastor who took financial favors from a parishioner that bordered on the unethical.
In our role at Focus on the Family, we talk to pastors all the time who have mismanaged money or used church funds to cover their shortages or who, for some reason, take liberties with someone else’s money. Others are in trouble because they failed to file their income tax returns — or to pay their taxes.
There are some pastors I see who do nothing but talk about their financial holdings or businesses they have on the side. They do not talk much about the church or their ministry. When I leave them, I feel empty.
Oh, I’m not saying you can’t receive gifts from your church family or even an individual in the church — but you must keep it in perspective. What will it cost you in the long run? Will you be indebted forever, or will the lure of money take priority over the call of God in your life?
I remember once — many years ago — when members of my church came to me with a “can’t lose” business deal. “Don’t worry,” they said. “We will handle all of this for you.” Well, the deal went bad and I had to go to my dad for help with the $10,000 I lost. I was duped, but had no recourse because these men were in my church. So I just had to eat it.
Since that time, I have followed several guidelines:
- If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.
- If the search for financial gain becomes so strong it detracts from your ministry — it is wrong.
- Under no circumstances should you sign church checks or have access to church funds without dual signers.
- If you have a church credit card, it should have a limit and be paid off each month.
- Do not fall for get-rich schemes.
- The line between what’s legal and what is ethical is thin. Be careful.
- If you pay taxes quarterly, save up! Don’t be hit with a tax bill at the last minute.
We have a Pastor to Pastor CD titled, “The Pastor’s Money.” We will send it free to the first 200 pastors who request it. (Click on reply or send it to pwb@family.org and give us your name, mailing address and zip code.) It will change your life. I promise.
We don’t talk about things like this very often, but I thought I should. Have a blessed weekend. —HBL
“Taken from the Pastor’s Weekly Briefing, [September 1, 2006]. Copyright © 2006, Focus on the Family.”
