I shared the image online with a one-word caption.  Not even a word, really.  A number.

$700,000.

It was vaguebooking at its finest, bait, an indictment.  The first comment was a single-word response – Argumentative – and I suppose it was, knowing my own thoughts.

Three giants, the tallest over 100 feet, boasting of something but I’m skeptical as to what. The cynic played with math, a dangerous proposition for a girl who lives among words not numbers–

Oh, the possibilities, the tangible good $700,000 could do…

• sponsor 128 children for Compassion International throughout their entire tenure in the program (presuming they start at 6 and age out at 18).
• help protect 23,333 vulnerable women through Samaritan’s Purse 
• sponsor 116 entire projects for Charity Water
• change the world through Freeset USA’s Give to Grow Freedom projects for women at risk of sex trafficking
• cover the cost of 46,666 Shoe cutting parties (for ten) from Sole Hope
• support the rescue work of Exodus Road

I looked closer to home, what $700,000 could do in our hometown…

• that $700,000 would amplify to $7 million if given to the Chattanooga Area Food Bank
• it could fight childhood cancer through the Austin Hatcher Foundation or Jack’s Chattanoogins
• make an unimaginable difference for No Place Like Home Field
• provide a year of sleep for 383 people or 350,000 meals at the Chattanooga Rescue Mission.

And it would explode my Salvation Army virtual kettle.

When I pass under the shadow of those crosses, I shake my head and tsk judgment.  I see pride and arrogance, a monument to man, Babel’s Tower.  I grieve the greater good that could be accomplished by putting that money to better use.  But…

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What if I’m wrong?

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This image stirred up interesting conversation in my social networks, so much so I found myself wrestling my judgment, wanting to find loftier ground, and finally processing it in writing.  Please continue reading Crosses and Planks at Deeper Story today; and add your respectful thoughts.