Crazy Money! Joss Paper

It’s Crazy Money Day!

What you believe is expressed in your use of money. Several years ago, I was invited to teach in Taiwan. Walking back to my hotel with my hosts, we passed what looked like street vendors along the sidewalk. Every 50 to 100 feet, crouched around a small stove with an open flame, people looked to be huddling for warmth. Businesspeople in expensive attire, male and female alike, stopped at these stations and appeared to be dropping money into the fire. Some dropped fistfuls of bills, others tossed wads or stacks of money. Though shocking to me, my host seemed oblivious. Finally, I asked, “Are these people burning money?” Calmly he answered, “Yes, you could say they’re burning money. However, they don’t think they’re burning money or wasting it. They believe they’re sending it to dead relatives who need it.”

Upon returning to my hotel I researched the practice of Joss Paper – also known as Incense Papers or Hell Paper. They’re paper tokens that look like currency or even gold. One source explains: “…these burnt offerings are common in Chinese ancestral worship. Joss paper items are burned or buried in various Asian funerals to ensure that the spirit of the deceased has sufficient needs in their afterlife.” In Taiwan alone, temples receive about 400 million U.S. dollars from the sale of Joss Paper! Without a proper belief and practice of Biblical financial principles, people everywhere burn through a crazy amount of money!

My newest book, Economic Evidence for God is a great resource for those wanting to better understand the way your personal economy works as well as the global economy from a Biblical perspective. It’s available now at Amazon.com.