Thought of their Day 06.28.10

The motto “In God we trust” has been in use on coins since the 1860s and on paper money since the 1950s, a fact which is notoriously controversial to some people because it seems like an endorsement of religion. But I wonder whether some others might object to this for a different reason.

They might think that it’s a poor choice to put God’s name on money because it seems like an endorsement of materialism or like some crass demotion of God’s sovereignty to put his name on “filthy lucre.” As you might suspect, I see it differently.

We live in a land where materialism and financial idolatry are as rampant as any epidemic. Some people worship money by the way they misuse it, while others worship it by orienting their entire lives around making and saving it. Precisely for these people, I think printing this motto on money is useful as one potential brief reminder at the point of purchase that God, not wealth, is the only true source of security. It actually makes me wonder why banks don’t usually put it on checks and credit cards.