Donald
Trump and Warren Buffet are not only known for their billions of bucks, but
also for their tendency to say whatever comes to mind. I guess having tons of
money affords you the right to have no filter and a huge ego. Some would argue
that business tycoons like these guys have the E.F. Hutton effect upon the masses,
meaning that when they speak people listen. After all, we’ve always been told
that, “money talks.” While these titans of Wall Street may know the in’s-and-out’s
of the financial markets, I’m often astounded at how little they know about
theology. Consider a couple of anecdotes:
Early
in 1989, a writer asked Trump the inevitable question about what horizons were
left to conquer. “Right now, I’m genuinely enjoying myself,” Trump replied. “I
work and I don’t worry.” “What about death?” the writer asked. “Don’t you worry
about dying?” Trump dealt his stock answer, one that appears in a lot of his
interviews. “No,” he said. “I’m fatalistic and I protect myself as well as
anybody can. I prepare for things.” This time, however, as Trump started
walking up the stairs to have dinner with his family, he hesitated for a
moment. “No,” he said finally, “I don’t believe in reincarnation, heaven or
hell—but we go someplace.” Again a pause. “Do you know,” he added, “I cannot,
for the life of me, figure out where.”[1]
A
few years ago the media made a big deal about the philanthropy of Warren
Buffet, the world’s wealthiest man. A USA
Today spread explained how Buffet decided to sign over $30.7 billion to the
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Here is an excerpt from the article:
“Warren Buffett's contribution of
about $1.5 billion a year to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will be
used to seek cures for the world's worst diseases and improve American education,
Bill Gates said Monday. “There is no reason we can't cure the top 20 diseases,”
Gates said while appearing with Buffett during a donation ceremony at the New
York Public Library. The Buffett and Gates families, as well as onlookers, were
beaming as the so-called Oracle of Omaha officially made his benevolence a reality.
During the ceremony, Buffet said, “I am not an enthusiast for dynastic wealth,
particularly when the alternative is 6 billion people having much poorer hands
in life than we have. There is more than one way to get to heaven, but this is
a great way.”[2]
Do
you think God is impressed by Buffet’s donation? What about Trump not doing any
research about what lies beyond the grave; would he be that reckless with his
money? Buffet thinks that he can buy his way into heaven though good works,
while Trump has spent more time planning his next investment than where he will
spend eternity. These examples go to show how foolish men plan more for this
life than the next.
Jesus
told the story of a rich farmer who enjoyed great success. Reflecting on his
accomplishments, he said, "I know! I'll tear down my barns and build
bigger ones. Then I'll have room enough to store all my wheat and other goods.
And I'll sit back and say to myself, 'My friend, you have enough stored away
for years to come. Now take it easy! Eat, drink, and be merry!'” (Luke
12:18-19, NLT). But God told him, "You fool! You will die this very night.
Then who will get everything you worked for?" (verse 20, NLT).
We
can find some commendable things about this rich man. He was a hardworking
farmer. He probably would have had to work longer and get up earlier and expend
more energy than the other farmers of his day to achieve such success. He was a
lot like Buffet and Trump; he had reached the top of his career and the sky was
the limit.
But
his mistake wasn't in being successful in his work. His mistake wasn't even in
acquiring possessions. His mistake was failing to make plans for eternity. He
was living large. But he forgot that the clock was ticking, that life was
passing by. Later on, Jesus would say in Luke 12:15, “And he said to them,
“Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does
not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” He who dies with the most
toys, still dies.
In
his commentary on Luke, John Phillips, makes three penetrating observations
that we should consider about the rich fool. He writes, “This fellow made three
mistakes. First, he mistook his bankbook
for his Bible. He measured success in terms of what he read in his bankbook
and his balance sheet that what he read in the Bible. Then too, he mistook his body for his soul. What
use does the immaterial soul have for barns and banquets? Finally, this secular
humanist mistook time for eternity.
He thought he had many years on earth, but that night his life would be
required of him.”[3]
The
only way we can become rich is to declare spiritual bankruptcy and turn to
Christ. -DM
[1]
Lee Strobel, What Jesus Would Say? (Grand
Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1994), 120-121.
[2] “Warren
Buffett signs over $30.7B to Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation,” USA Today, 26 June 2006, <http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/money/2006-06-25-buffett-charity_x.htm>
[3]
John Phillips, Exploring The Gospel of
Luke (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel, 2005), 180-181.
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