In general I agree with the prescription he gives in the class: get out of debt, live within your means, put aside an emergency fund covering at least 3 months living expense, set aside long term savings for retirement with a target of 15% of your pay each month, and give away at least 10%. I did, however, struggle with the spirit of the class giving constant emphasis to building wealth with only occasional reference to building godliness. The mantra he repeats over and over is 'live like no one else for a while (ie, frugally) so you can live like no one else later (ie, in wealth)'. The implication is that it is ok to lavish 'stuff' on yourself later once you attain wealth (and he amplifies that with examples of his friend who drives the Rolls Royce, his friends who are multi-millionaires, etc, etc). While that may be a sales pitch to get the attention of those who are indeed focused on their own desire for wealth, it is not a worthy motivation for a serious Christian. The mantra should be something more like 'live like no one else now so you can become more in God's image'. Our goal should not be to build wealth; our goal should be to be more like Jesus.
Now Jesus was not in favor of our being in debt head over heels from what I can see in the Scriptures. Being like Jesus would include not being enslaved to debt. But I don't think the class talked en0ugh about risk, either the risk that comes with investments or the spiritual risks that come with wealth. As I have commented before, freedom is risky business. The freedom that comes with wealth is certainly risky, as we can all see in the tabloids reflected in the lives of the rich and famous.
Another mantra he uses often is 'don't be normal; normal is broke'! I agree---don't be normal, but don't be normal because Jesus wasn't normal. Being serious about your Christian life isn't normal.
So, tonight's class was certainly the best since it said the most about the spiritual issues. Not enough was said, but more than the other classes. It reminded me of a sermon series we heard in Memphis over 20 years ago. There are only a handful of sermons I have heard that were that memorable. This series was about the nature of God, and there were some sermons on things about God's nature which are out of our human realm, things like His sovereignty, his omnipotence, his omniscience. But some were about the characteristics of God which we are expected to imitate, and which His children should be seeking every day. The sermons said it this way:
- God is a worker, and so should we be
- God is a lover, and so should we be
- God is a giver, and so should we be
I would add another: God is a thinker, and so should we be.
I think it was Mahatma Gandhi who said that a great evil in this world is wealth without work. I agree, though I suspect on far less socialist grounds than Gandhi. I do not object to wealthy capitalists making even more money through investing their capital. I consider that a form of work. I do believe that we have a calling, a vocation, to carry out in order to live in God's image. Jesus said in John 5:17 'My father is working until now, and I myself am working'. He is still at work. He expects no less of us.
Of course, the most quoted Scripture is John 3:16: 'For God so loved the world that he gave'. This one verse, along with many others, addresses both God as lover and God as giver. Love is often expressed in gifts though not only in gifts. To be like Him, we must both love and give.
Got is also a thinker. Ramsey did emphasize on several occasions the importance of reading and thinking. In the beginning was the Logos we are told, and the Logos, though translated 'Word', is not something spoken. It is more akin to mind than speech. To say that God 'spoke' the universe into existence is really to say that He thought it into existence. I have commented before that the famous relativity equation should really be E=mc^2=I where I=Information; that is to say, God turned information, really His thought, into both mass and energy to create the universe. To say that all truth is God's truth, and that we are to seek truth, is to say in another form that God is a thinker, and so should we be.
As I said, I agree with most of the actions that Ramsey recommends. I just don't think doing it to build wealth is a good enough reason. I like to think he also thinks that but just doesn't say it enough. Ultimately, if we attain wealth, the whole pathway should be one that glorifies God, and our life style should be one that glorifies God and not just one that allows us to 'live like no one else'.
No comments:
Post a Comment