Love, Money and Change

As the winds of change were blowing across this nation, propelling our new president into office, something went unnoticed. Money. Not only did President Obama raise and spend a record amount of money in his election (all apparently legal), but now a 'love of money' is giving a knee wobbling blow to his new administration.

The new Secretary of the Treasury, Timothy Geitner, admitted to failing to pay his self-employment taxes while working for the Internaitonal Monetary Fund. In addition, claimed his children's summer camp expenses as his business expenses even after his accountant said that he couldn't. This was explained away as a "honest mistake." Really? The guy who is going to run the department that oversees the IRS doesn't know that he has to pay self-employment taxes as a person who is self-employed? Or that he can't claim little Jimmy's week at Camp Summer Fun as his work expenses? Really?

Yesterday, the latest blow was dealt to the Obama administration and our country as the nominee for the Secretary of Health and Human Services, Tom Dashle, withdrew himself from the nomination. This came after much scrambling to explain why he had not paided more than $120,000 dollars in taxes, with an additional $12,000 in fines. That is well over two years salary for my family. How is it that a multiple-term senator, once the majority leader of the senate, doesn't know to pay his taxes? And this was the guy who was supposed to fix our healthcare system? Really? This, of course, was also explained as a "honest mistake." Really?

I have not yet mentioned Nancy Killefer who was supposed to be our nations Chief Proformance Officer to make sure our government was productive with it spending. She had to withdraw because she didn't pay taxes for a couple of years on her nanny who apparently was an illegal alien. She is going to make sure our government is accountable? Really?

So what is going on? I'm not sure that anyone other than the nominees believes that any of these situations are simply "honest mistakes." It appears to me that what has happened is that these individuals, along with many other people in our country are in love. What? Yes, I said it. They are in love....with MONEY. They thought that they found a way to keep more of there money by not following the laws that they professed to uphold. And now, in the national spotlight, they have been caught in the middle of a love affair.

In 1 Timothy 6:10 the Apostle Paul wrote, "For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs."

These otherwise decent people have been pierced through with many griefs because of the love affair that they have with money. And the reality is that many of us also have the same lover. Most of us keep our torrid affair a well kept secret, but every once in a while circumstances reveal our true passion.

So let the difficult and embarassing plight of these three individuals serve as a warning for you and I. Let's guard our hearts from falling in love with the seductress of money and possession, because once our hearts become attached we too are in for a hard fall.