A WORD FOR TODAY, April 21, 2022
Peggy Hoppes
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Blessings. Peg
A WORD FOR TODAY, April 21, 2022
“But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we certainly can’t carry anything out. But having food and clothing, we will be content with that. But those who are determined to be rich fall into a temptation, a snare, and many foolish and harmful lusts, such as drown men in ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some have been led astray from the faith in their greed, and have pierced themselves through with many sorrows. But you, man of God, flee these things, and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness. Fight the good fight of faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and you confessed the good confession in the sight of many witnesses. I command you before God, who gives life to all things, and before Christ Jesus, who before Pontius Pilate testified the good confession, that you keep the commandment without spot, blameless, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which in its own times he will show, who is the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings, and Lord of lords. He alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen, nor can see: to whom be honor and eternal power. Amen.” I Timothy 6:6-16, WEB
Today is the 96th birthday of Queen Elizabeth of the United Kingdom. She is planning to celebrate her special day with family and friends at a private cottage on her Sandringham estate. The cottage was a favorite place of her late husband Prince Philip. It has been just over a year since he died, so I imagine her day will be filled with happy memories as she spends time in his favorite place. We wonder at her choice, after all, she has multiple castles and palaces where she can spend her time. Wood Farm Cottage was where Philip spent much of his last few years; after he retired, he stayed there painting watercolors and relaxing away from the public’s eye. The cottage is a humble hideaway, and much less formal than the main house, which is an incredible building just a few miles up the road.
We visited Sandringham while we lived in England, as well as some of her other homes. I like to joke that my claim to fame is that I ate at every one of the queen’s homes. I had tea at Sandringham, in the tea shop on the grounds. I ate a ham sandwich in the gardens of Buckingham Palace. I ate shortbread cookies outside Windsor Castle, and she was there! Sadly, she was inside but never invited me (or the thousands of other people visiting that day) in. I ate a chocolate candy bar at the Palace at Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh, Scotland and she was there, too! Unfortunately, that meant I couldn’t actually go into the palace, but a nice guard allowed me to put my foot through the gate so I would be “standing” on the grounds. Finally, I had a snack at Balmoral, the queen’s Scottish estate in the far north. She was reportedly going to be visiting the estate when we were there, and it is said that she mingles with the visitors. Unfortunately, she had not yet arrived when we had to leave, but I still managed to eat at her house!
The palaces and castles are impressive, with incredible furnishings and art. These homes are well maintained, though it takes a great deal of money to do so. How do they pay for it all? They are royalty, so they must have plenty of money. Of course, there are those who would say that the care and upkeep is paid for on the backs of the people. This is true, in a sense. The queen is sovereign or head of state for fifteen Commonwealth realms, each with roles that are separate and legally distinct. Even at her age, Queen Elizabeth still serves her people, and she is given a yearly payment called the Sovereign Grant to use for official royal duties. It covers the costs of staff and upkeep, and is equal to about £1.29 per citizen. That money from the nation are not her own personal funds.
She does have private monies. There is a fund called the Queen’s Privy Purse, which has been passed down from monarch to monarch over the ages and includes income from a private estate. She owns several of her own properties, including Sandringham and Balmoral, which provide some of her income. The government reports that the queen pays taxes on all her private income. Many people scoff at the idea of royalty, and many sovereigns have not been good people. Despite her wealth, she has long been a humble servant of her people and a good sovereign for her country for more than seventy years. Most of all, though, she loves God and knows that though she is sovereign over nations, she is also a servant to the Sovereign King of kings and Lord of lords.
I am sure there are readers who will wonder at choosing a rich, privileged woman in a Christian devotional, especially a text like the one today that focuses on money. Paul is not arguing against wealth in this text. Paul wrote, “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.” Money is not the root of all evil; the love of money that is the root of all evil. We need money to pay for everything we have. We need enough money to pay the rent or mortgage. We need money to buy food. We need money to purchase the clothes for our backs. They bible does not tell us that we have to live without money to be happy, but that we are to find contentment in what we do have. In other words, we do not need to chase after more and more money so that we can have bigger and better things. Perhaps it has taken 96 years, but the queen seems to have found contentment.
Spending her birthday in the informal cottage rather than a grand palace is just one of the many ways that Queen Elizabeth demonstrates her humility. Of course, she is 96 years old and has had some health issues recently, so she has chosen to spend her day away from the limelight instead of basking in the adoration of her people. She continues to serve her people with love We can look to her as an example of one who has followed the message of Paul to Timothy to grow and mature in faith, fighting the good fight and taking hold of the promises of God.
She seems content these days, despite the continued responsibilities and pressures of rule. She certainly isn’t a pauper, and you can see her wealth in her homes, those that are owned by the nation and her own personal properties. Some might say she has too much wealth, yet there are hundreds of people who have far more wealth than her, people we respect for their good works and charitable contributions. She also does what is right with her wealth, serving her people with her resources as well as her action. We look to her as an example today because she lives as one with faith, humbly serving her people with her whole heart, honoring the God who is her King and Lord that chose her to be queen with thankfulness and praise.
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