The Currency of Heaven

“Dad?” my youngest son, Clifford, asked me one day. “Why do we have to pay for stuff?”

“Because someone took the time to make that stuff,” I replied.

“Why can’t it be free?” he asked.

“Well, because it took a lot of time to make it and we need to make a living,” I stated.

“Why do we need to make a living? If everyone gave what they made away for free, no one would have to work. There would be no money because there would be nothing to buy. It’d all be free!”

I pondered his logic and then asked a question of my own, “Why did God command Adam and Eve to eat by the sweat of their brow?”

“I don’t know, ’cause He wanted to see them sweat?” he giggled.

I chuckled. “He commanded them, as He does us, to work for their living so that they would learn all the lessons in life He intends for them to learn,” I said, hoping to end the conversation.

“What lesson does God want us to learn from work?” my son continued, perplexed.

“To learn that serving others is the economy of heaven and if we want to go there someday, and become like Him, we need to learn that working is really about using our skills and talents to serve and help others,” I said.

I believe God has commanded us to work hard so that we might have joy and happiness, both in this life and in the life to come. Certainly that is why He gave you and me unique gifts or talents — that we might employ them in the service of others.

Commerce is nothing more than two people serving one another. One makes a widget and the other buys the widget. One serves the other and the other serves back by paying or trading services for it. God is preparing us for heaven by setting up a world in which we practice serving each other. Heaven’s currency is selfless service and wholesome work.

I do my best to use my God-given talents to write thoughts and impressions that serve the reader. You buy the book or peruse the post. We are both served.

In what ways would such an outlook on your work change your attitude towards your employment?

Considering my gifts and how I can better employ them in serving others has inspired me to write Ask God. It is my intent to replace my twelve-plus years in non-profit management with writing and speaking — not because it would make a good living, but because it would make life good. I believe that writing and speaking may be the most honest way for me to utilize my budding but God-given gifts in helping others — not because it comes naturally, but because it is honest, hard work, and I love every minute of it.

“Holy Father, You know my weaknesses,” I once prayed and recorded in my journal. “I often try to find the most efficient, fast, and least-amount-of-work-and-pain way to get something done and still get the desired results.” “Well,” I continued, “you say our weaknesses can become our strengths. I pray for a good struggle, something that will shape me into the man You want me to become. I need hard work and not for everything to go right all at once. I want to enjoy the journey up the mountainside and not skip it for a quicker path to the top. Can You help me with that?”

Fourteen days after recording this prayer, I felt inspired to write Ask God. It was hard work. But if it serves my fellow humans, prayer answered.

What would it look like for you to practice the economy of heaven and employ your God-given gifts in the service of others?