Welcome back to 1 Corinthians! We’ve made it to the final chapter, and here we go!

Now about the collection for God’s people…(1 Corinthians 16:1).

Uh oh

Money

It tends to make people twitch.

When the subject of giving comes up in church, you just know some people are thinking

Awww, Man!

They’re talking about money again.

Why are church people always talking about money?

Maybe because “Church People” know, as Paul knew, as Jesus knew, that money can be a really sticky point for people. 

The image that comes to my mind this morning is the old Monkey Jar Trap. 

You don’t know about the old Monkey Jar Trap?

Well, you need to.

It goes something like this: if you want to catch a monkey unharmed–because why would you hurt a monkey–you get a jar with a wide bottom and a narrow top. You put something delightful, say a little rice or a marble, in the bottom of the jar. The monkey comes along, puts his hand in the jar, grabs the niftiness, and pulls his hand out of the jar.

Except he can’t

because his closed fist doesn’t fit through the narrow opening of the jar.

The only way for the monkey to free himself is to let go of his treasure, which he will not do, as he is a monkey. 

And so he is caught…by himself.

You, Beloved, are not a monkey, so I will leave you to connect the dots.

Happy Wednesday, Beloved