Old Money

Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.

Luke 12:33

I am sure you, like me, have occasionally found yourself stuck with old currency that you could not use. You ask yourself how in the world you accepted such a worn-out, torn note and curse your luck. You wonder what to do about it. Because you do not live in Kano. You see, in this old city, anything that has ever been used as legal tender is acceptable. From old 50 Kobo coins to the dirtiest, ugliest 5 Naira note you'll ever see. I sometimes wonder that I have yet to see shillings in use there.

Unfortunately for me, I came back to Jos with a lot of old, dirty currency as change. I stopped by the roadside today to buy some yoghurt from a Fan merchant but the disgust on his face as I counted out the money said it all: "Your currency is not acceptable here." Money that I had used freely just a few days ago was no longer tenable and these old notes had suddenly lost their value.

Reminds me of Jesus' teachings in Luke 12. First he tells the parable of the Rich Fool, a pretty wise man by this world's standards, seeing as he was so successful in farming and business. But he was unwise in thinking his life was guaranteed and for trusting in his riches. God's reply to him was none too kind: "You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you." Jesus said in conclusion, "This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God." As wealthy as this man was, his currency was not acceptable in Heaven.

In the next part of the chapter, Jesus teaches, "Do not worry… Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? … Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted … For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." I couldn't say it better myself. The bottom line I guess is that we must work for treasure that will be presentable when crunch time comes because then, your money will not matter. The sign reads: Earthly Currency Not Accepted Here.

With love, Doosuur.