The New England Journal of Medicine reported a strange discovery made by French doctors in 2002. A 62-year-old man entered Cholet General Hospital suffering from stomach pain.

An X-ray revealed a huge mass of metal in his stomach. When doctors operated, they removed 12 pounds of coins as well as necklaces and needles.

Despite his family's attempts to keep money and jewelry away from him, the man swallowed 350 coins, both Francs and Euros, over the course of a decade.

Bruno Francois, one of the physicians who treated him, said, "When he was invited to some homes, he liked to steal coins and eat them." The condition is known as "pica," a compulsion to swallow inedible items. A person suffering from pica will swallow just about anything and Francois once treated someone who ate forks.

The coin fixation of this particular patient badly damaged the man's stomach. Twelve days after doctors removed $650 from his belly, he died.

Possible Preaching Angle:

This illustration is not as unlikely as it seems. How many people are willing to “gain the whole world and lose their own soul?” (Matt. 16:26; Matt 4:8; Luke 9:25)