In God We Trust

If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.

– Colossians 3:1–2

In God We Trust. 

For 160 years, American coins — and later paper currency — have displayed this familiar motto. According to the U.S. Treasury, a Pennsylvania minister in 1861 recommended to Secretary of the Treasury Salmon P. Chase that American coins should “recognize Almighty God in some form.” Chase agreed and instructed the director of the Philadelphia Mint to prepare an appropriate slogan: 

“No nation can be strong except in the strength of God, or safe except in His defense,” he wrote. “The trust of our people in God should be declared on our national coins.”

How ironic is it that “Godless” money should cite such an important reminder about the real source of our security? But if we’re honest with ourselves, perhaps the motto should read: In GOLD We Trust. After all, when life gets tough, it’s only natural to rely on our money, riches, and possessions rather than the One who makes it possible to earn a living in the first place.

But here’s an inconvenient truth: Our bank accounts are no defense against life’s hard realities. Illnesses strike, relationships fail, and that which seemed solid turns to dust in our hands. What we desperately need is something — or Someone — who embodies rock-solid certainty and trust.

It’s in Matthew’s gospel that Jesus tells us about a foolish man who built a house on shifting sands. When a storm struck, the rains came and the winds blew with fury. It’s no surprise that the flimsy structure collapsed with a crash. But in comparison a wise man built his house on a foundation of solid rock. So, when the storm clouds of life boiled on the horizon, that house withstood even the heaviest downpour.

This leads to an essential question: Are you counting on your uncertain finances to save you when the realities of life happen? If so, it’s time to renew your mind and trust in God: The One who not only made you, but knew everything about you before you were born. 

“Blessed is the man who makes the Lord his trust,” we read in Psalms, “who does not look to the proud, to those who turn aside to false gods.”

In God We Trust is more than a motto printed on money. It’s rock-solid truth that we can take to the bank.