MONEY!

Act I, Scene II, of Macbeth mentions “ten thousand dollars”. See, I knew there was a Scottish connection to the coinage of the USA (and to that of the Australians, Canadians, Bahamians, Fijians, Singaporeans, Liberians, Namibians, Zimbabweans, et alii)!

Some kind of money called “dollar” appears to have been extant in this bonnie land of Scotland in the 17th century; nonetheless, the reference in a play that is supposedly based on an 11th-century Macbeth MacFindleach (?) is quite anachronistic.

This Dollar (in the picture), however, is a small town (pop. 2,759) in Clackmannanshire, Scotland, the proud location of Castle Campbell, where Mary Queen of Scots once lived in the 16th century.

(I gave the castle a miss! And the town as well; I drove right through it, without even seeing it. I turned around just for the photograph. The sign was far too intriguing to skip.)

The name of this town apparently comes from the tale of a princess who died in the castle of a broken heart—so, ”Dollar,” derived from dolor, grief. Or perhaps from the Gaelic doilleir, dark and gloomy.

Appropriate, I figured. $$ brings dolor, making life doilleir.

For the love of money
is a root of all sorts of evil,
and some by longing for it
have wandered away from the faith
and pierced themselves
with many griefs.
1 Timothy 6:10

By the way, this monetary focus of the Bible is quite telling: 288 verses in the four Gospels—a full 10%—deal with this issue. There are more verses on this topic than on heaven and hell combined! The Bible has about 500 references to prayer, about 500 to faith, but over 2,000 references to money and possessions! Money, folks, is a major spiritual issue, and usually in the negative sense.

No wonder Scripture casts a jaundiced eye upon lucre (always prefixed in the KJV New Testament with the adjective “filthy”).

Explicitly, Paul rules out of leadership those who are possessed by the love of money. Elders, he asserts, must be …

… free from the love of money.
1 Timothy 3:3

All believers are, instead, bidden to be content; the reason is forcefully brought home with a cascade of five negatives (in the original) in a single verse!

Make sure that your character is
free from the love of money,
being content with what you have;
for He Himself has said,
“I WILL NEVER DESERT YOU,
NOR WILL I EVER FORSAKE YOU” ….
Hebrews 13:5

The sufficiency of God, His supply of our need, the succor of His grace, the security of His love … what more do we need?

For we have brought nothing
into the world, so we cannot
take anything out of it either.
If we have food and covering,
with these we shall be content.
1 Timothy 6:7–8

Money doesn’t relieve dolor. Money doesn’t alleviate doilleir. Money doesn’t even last.

When you set your eyes on it,
it is gone.
For wealth certainly
makes itself wings ….
Proverbs 23:5

How true! So, rather than chasing after the monetary dividends of market and the mercenary dealings of mammon, Paul exhorts, …

… you man/woman of God, …
pursue righteousness, godliness,
faith, love, perseverance
and gentleness.
1 Timothy 6:11

For, indeed, great gain is to be gotten by being godly, both in this world and the next.

… godliness is profitable
for all things,
since it holds promise
for the present life
and also for the life to come.
1 Timothy 4:8

So let godliness constantly be our quarry. And quiet contentment consistently our character.