By: William Andrew Dillard
As a small child, I cherished our family radio. It was a battery-powered unit with a copper wire antenna strung from one gable of the roof to the other. There were so many mesmerizing stories with excellent sound effects fueling a rich imagination. To speak of the vast programming would take more than one article, but even in those days “Dragnet” was popular, and I do believe Jack Webb was the radio voice of it then as well as later on T.V.
How well I recall one particular episode wherein a man committed robbery, and upon questioning he allowed the cause was his extreme financial need, noting that he only had $300.00 in the bank. That sounded like millions to me, and I was astounded. I turned to dad and asked him if we had $300.00 in the bank. He replied, as I knew he would, that we did not. Moreover he stated that we did not have a bank account of any sort. So, my question was: since we were doing so well with no money (actually we were quite poor, but so were our neighbors, so it did not bother us) why would a man with $300.00 in the bank commit a robbery?
Dad said there were many reasons for such, and all of them were bad. This man on Dragnet had what we thought was a tidy sum, but in his estimation, he was obviously poorer than we were. Of course, in those days heads of household often worked for $25.00 per week.
Dad taught me that the truly rich people were not those with large amounts of money, but those who knew the Lord, worked honestly for their wages, and lived in a house of love. He was so right! My uneducated, but wise in the Lord, and in life, father taught me a lot of solid principles and lasting truths that have not only benefited the pathway of my years; they continue to do so today. Chief among those things is to put God first, and He will provide the essentials of life for me and mine. Folks, that has never failed me. I would not turn my back on my Savior, His Word, or the hope He has given me for all the gold in every nation on earth. It, and all the kindred material things will pass away, but the Word of God abideth forever. I choose it not in acquiescence but in continued search, because that is the kind of Christian I am, and I am rich beyond the wildest of imaginations!
