Wesley's Confederate Currency Taken From The Book The Law of Rewards By Permission From Randy Alcorn. Confederate Currency John Wesley said, "Money never stays with me. It would burn me if it did. I throw it out of may hands as soon as possible, lest it should find its way into my heart." Wesley earned considerable book royalties. At a time when a single man could live comfortably on thirty pounds per year, his annual income reached fourteen hundred. Yes, Wesley's goal was to give so generously that he would leave virtually nothing behind when he died. He achieved that goal. What perspective motivated John Wesley to live this way? I use this analogy in my book The Treasure Principle: Imagine you're alive at the end of the Civil War. You're living in the South, but you are a Northerner. You plan to move home as soon as the war is over. While in the South you've accumulated lots of Confederate currency. Now, suppose you know for a fact that the North is going to win the war and the end is imminent. What will you do with your Confederate money? If you're smart, there's only one answer. You should immediately cash in your Confederate currency for U.S. currency - the only money that will have value once the war is over. Keep only enough Confederate currency to meet your short-term needs. This is exactly why John Wesley lived as he did. When he left this world, he didn't want to be holding on to a pile of worthless Confederate money that he couldn't take with him. When the Lord returns, all remaining money and possessions will burn, like wood, hay, and straw, when it could have been given in exchange for gold, silver, and precious stones. Money that could have been used to feed the hungry and fulfill the great commission will go up in smoke. While it still had value, Wesley traded in his "Confederate currency" for treasures in heaven. How about you and me? How much Confederate money will we have left when we die or Christ returns? Have you ever played one of those card games where the winner is the one who runs out of cards first? At the end of the game, every card left counts against you. The American dream is to die with as many cards in your hand as possible. But maybe we have it backwards. Maybe our strategy should be like John Wesley's - not to get stuck with all those cards at our life's end. "But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. the heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare." (2 Peter 3:10) We've been given an insider's knowledge of a coming change in the worldwide economic situation. The currency of this world will all be worthless at our death or Christ's return, both of which are imminent. This knowledge should be radically affect our investment strategy. For us to accumulate vast earthly treasures in the face of the inevitable future is equivalent to stockpiling Confederate money. It's not wrong. It's stupid. Kingdom currency, backed by the eternal treasury, is the only medium of exchange recognized by the Son of God, whose government will last forever. The currency of his kingdom is our present faithful service and sacrificial use of our resources for him. The payoff in eternity will be what Paul called "a firm foundation", consisting of treasures beyond our wildest dreams. Are you stockpiling Confederate currency? Or are you exchanging it for kingdom currency that will survive this world...and retain its value for all eternity?
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