MONEY

The concept of money has always intrigued me. It is a medium of exchange that represents a unit of worth. In days past it was tied to gold. Thirty five dollars would buy one ounce of gold. Today the unit of worth of the dollar is whatever we collectively agree to be its value. Of course the government has a big say in its value by controlling how many dollars are in circulation at any given time. If too many dollars are printed, the value of the dollar goes down. Inflation over the years has decreased its value. In 1968 the lumber mills paid wages of about $3.50 per hour. Today, if you can find a lumber mill, your pay might be closer to $22 per hour. That doesn’t mean we are richer today. Everything else has also inflated. In 1960 my father purchased a small two bedroom rental house in Bandon, Oregon for $5,000. Today that same house sells for at least $150,000.

The art of handling money correctly seems to be a great mystery in our culture. Many families have a negative balance in their net worth. If they paid off their credit cards and sold all possessions, they would still owe money. I am a constant witness in my business to poor spending decisions. I see people purchase $35,000 trucks on a $35,000 annual income, with no health insurance on their family, and no life insurance on the breadwinner.

One solution is to spend less than you make. It seems to be a principle that few understand. It is easy to do if you have no credit, but hard to do if you are addicted to credit cards. As a culture, we tend to spend money based on our standard of living instead of on our income. Of course the entire advertising industry doesn’t want you to be successful in your goals to spend less money, and the government lives in fear that simply the lack of confidence we have in the economy could be enough to throw us into a national recession. Think what would happen if we all woke up tomorrow and anyone who watched a new car advertisement on television would get physically sick. In addition to needing a lot of baggies, the other impact would be the ripple effect of negative new car sales on our economy. However, if one family makes an individual decision to always purchase a used vehicle instead of a new vehicle, they would be putting literally tens of thousands of dollars in their pocket over a lifetime.

Another key to handling money is education. Mutual funds have proven historically that they can be a safe investment returning between 8 and 20 percent on a consistent basis. Unfortunately, many of the Americans who do save money are not choosing to learn how to invest. It only takes one magazine subscription and an earnest desire to learn. The difference it can make over thirty years is phenomenal.

Perhaps the greatest hindrance to financial success is a consumptive lifestyle. Consumption is a great tie-in to the advertising industry. The problem is that if I buy an unnecessarily expensive item, it can create a desire in you that wasn’t there before. You may have been very happy with your plastic blender, but seeing the bells and whistles of my stainless steel blender makes you much more likely to want your own. You could have gone all your life blissfully enjoying your ugly blender. I should have never invited you over. That does bring up an interesting moral question, however. Do I have an obligation to spend my money in such a way that it does not create unnecessary need in others? Or, do I proudly drive my metallic purple Corvette to get groceries, knowing I am making you salivate? The truth is that Corvettes do make me salivate. I alone am responsible for how I spend my money. I can’t blame the way I was raised. I can’t blame you for having a nicer car. I can’t blame the Democrats or Republicans. I have to take responsibility for my actions and for my judgment or lack of judgment. However, I would not recommend flaunting your wealth. Wealth can be a relative concept. If you go to Africa, do not wear your diamonds. It’s just common sense. However, you can wear diamonds around me, because it doesn't bother me. I also don’t care if you have a nice car, because I like to admire nice cars, and if I want one, I’ll buy myself one. I think I’ll just admire yours and keep my money in mutual funds.

ENDURANCE

Alfred Lansing wrote this in 1959, but its popularity has been revived recently when PBS broadcast a documentary on the book. It tells the story of how Ernest Shackleton led a crew of 27 on an exploratory expedition to the South Pole in 1914.

My recommendation is that you read this book in the summer, outside in a hammock, drinking lemonade, with the warm breeze blowing your hair. After all, Shackleton and his men are experiencing extreme, bitter cold, and this book has the capacity to make you feel cold even on a hot day. However, if you want to get the full experience, go to a walk-in cooler at someplace like Costco, and read it in short sleeves.

You won’t be able to put this book down, so don’t start it until you are sure you won’t compromise your work or family obligations. I suggest you wait until you get influenza, or perhaps take a trip to Mexico. Whatever you do, don’t read it while you have influenza in Mexico. That would be a little over the top.

My favorite part was their encounter with a rogue wave. The worst part was so bad that I can’t discuss it. The best news is that Shackleton brought all his men home alive.

This book is an excellent study of leadership. Shackleton had an uncanny ability to know the strengths and weaknesses of his men. He was able to control the troublemakers, and that is no small feat when you are crowded in total darkness for months at a time in the bottom of a wooden ship. Remember, they hadn’t invented antiperspirants yet.

Read and enjoy!

WHY I AM NOT A CHRISTIAN

Bertrand Russell was a renowned mathematician and philosopher. He lived from 1872-1970. I think a more appropriate title for this book should be “Why I am an Atheist.” He was raised in England and attended a religious school. It seems to be more of a reaction to the teaching he received as a child, and therefore a reaction to Christianity. Ibn Warraq used the same idea with his book titled, “Why I Am Not A Muslim,” which was a reaction to his upbringing as a Muslim.

After reading a biography of Bertrand Russell by Alan Ryan, it is quite apparent that he was intent on finding a paradigm for living that permitted a lascivious lifestyle without the guilt that being a Christian would bring. He advances all the traditional arguments against Christianity. It’s a good book to read if you want to justify why you are an atheist. It’s a better book for Christians to read, because it exposes them to what others are thinking about their faith. Several years ago we used this book in a church class as a basis for teaching apologetics. It went very well, and I look forward to teaching it again sometime in the future.

It seems to me that every belief system tends to be closed within its own system of logic and perspective. An atheist can seldom be persuaded to become a Christian, and a Christian laughs at the thought of converting to atheism. Any movement from one belief system to another requires either a life event powerful enough to break through the traditional thought patterns of that system, or a desire such as Russell had, to participate in “forbidden” activities. Many times the transition is gradual; for example, from Christianity, to apathy, to agnosticism, and then to atheism. I have a friend who went from Islam to atheism, and then to Christianity. In his case, he claims the move to Christianity was precipitated by Jesus appearing to him in a vision. I would be interested to hear in the comment section if you have had such a transition in your life; either sudden or gradual.

The real challenge of this book is that it causes the reader to ask, “Have I followed Bertrand Russell’s path of choosing a belief system because it justifies my life style, or have I subjected my life style to the truth?” I hope we are all have the courage to pursue truth.

Now you tell me, to quote Pontius Pilate, “What is truth?”