Volume 31, No. 9                                                 

February 26, 2006

 

Bank Notes 

 

 

   Even when it looks like its number is up, money talks.

 

   And getting the full story when bills are burnt, shredded, decomposed, torn or contaminated is the job of highly-trained technicians in the Bank of Canada’s Mutilated Notes Division.  Using a variety of high-tech tools, they examine the mangled remains of money involved in accidents and calculate how much has been lost.  The division 

handles 5,000 cases a year and replaces $3 million, free. 

 

   According to Duncan Hood in MoneySense magazine, one of those cases involved a 12-year-old boy who left the money from his paper route too close to his hamster’s cage.  The rodent pulled the bills through the bars and shredded them to remodel his bedroom.  When the lad collected the pieces and packed them off to the Bank with a note explaining the situation, the scientists were able to peg the loss and replace the loot. 

 

   Evidently, the most common way bills end up damaged or destroyed is when people get them wet then try to dry them in the microwave. The paper has a tendency to catch fire!  

 

   Then there was the man who saw his life savings go up in smoke when his house burned down.  After salvaging what was left of the blackened, badly burnt bills, he sent them to the Bank of Canada which reimbursed him for $150,000.

 

  In banking lingo, damaged money is called “Unfit, Value Unknown.” But not much stymies the detectives at the Mutilated Notes Division.  They’ve seen it all, including damage done by floods, chemicals and explosions.  

 

   Sometimes they unearth the true value of money found buried underground, or deal with deterioration caused by animals and insects.  

 

   Another challenge is money considered “contaminated,”whether by blood and mould, or by visible powders such as drugs or unknown biological substances.  Using everything from special solvents to sophisticated microscopes, the experts see what eludes the rest of us, enabling them to place a value on what would otherwise be considered Unfit and Unknown.

 

   Sounds a lot like how Christ operates, doesn’t it?  In a world filled with harsh, jaded and judgmental people, Jesus never writes us off or rules us out.  You know all about John 3:16:  “For God so loved the world that He gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”  But listen to what comes next.  “God didn’t send his Son into the world to condemn it, but to save it.”(v.17)

 

   No matter how emotionally damaged, disfigured or dysfunctional we become, God can always see beyond the surface to the worth and potential others may no longer recognise.  Just as money derives its value, not from the paper it’s printed on, but from the authority of its creator, we count because of the value He places on us.  A hundred-dollar bill that falls in the mud is still worth a hundred dollars.  

 

   Even when we let sin and self-centredness damage our heart, we’re never beyond redemption if we’ll submit to the examination of the Holy Spirit and the restoration made possible through the sacrifice of Jesus.  The Spirit knows us better than we know ourselves and “leads us into all truth,”(John 14:17) including the truth about God, and about us;  the good things we’re still capable of, even when others see nothing but ruin.  Then, through the grace and forgiveness found in Christ, we’re restored and put back into spiritual circulation.

 

   It’s simply not true that God loves us only when we’re obedient.  Over and over, the Bible says He’s “slow to anger and rich in unfailing love, forgiving every kind of sin and rebellion.” (Numbers 14:18)  Our Father loves us as we are, but sees us as we can be.  Even though we don’t deserve it, He rewards repentance by making everything new.

 

   There’s no love or faith that God can’t replace, not even when they’re incinerated by sin, shredded by worldly cares, contaminated with the toxins of pride and jealousy, or suffering the rot of bitter resentment.  So give him your heart.  When he gives it back, you’ll feel like a million bucks.

 

By Rick Gamble, published in Cross Current, the weekly newsletter of the followers of Christ congregation in Brantford, Ontario, Canada.  Reprint at will in not-for-profit publications.  To subscribe to these free, weekly articles, send an email to sgamble@bfree.on.ca