I want to focus on the first sentence of this quote and I freely admit that what I am going to discuss is NOT the message that Jesus was trying to communicate. Rather, I am going to write about the truth that was the point-of-departure or the spring-board that Jesus used as a "hook" to engage his audience.
That truth is that some investments are durable while other investments have very, very short "shelf-lives". Investors who want to be comfortable tend to purchase durable investments while people who "cannot get ahead" tend to purchase ephemeral wealth.
Examples of investments with a short shelf-life
- 1000 pounds of ripe bananas
- Dropping $400 on a date to impress a hot-chick (and gain status with your buddies)
- Scratch-off lottery tickets
- Stylish apparel
- Any electronics with proprietary batteries or power cord or storage media
- Exotic livestock
- Anything that is heavily advertised on mass media
Examples of durable assets
- Pint jars of canned tallow or quart jars of vacuum sealed wheat
- Buying your wife her choice of good cutlery or cookware
- Garden seeds, fruit trees, nut trees
- Durable, functional clothing that can be repaired
- Hand-tools, an abacus, classic books printed on quality paper, board games
- Breeds and species of livestock that are known to be low-maintenance
- Land
Since the middle of the Industrial Revolution, our ability to produce goods outran our ability to fully consume those goods. It became "necessary" to create demand through planned obsolescence and to create dissatisfaction (with the old, still useful goods) through advertising to keep the factories (wealth pumps) running. Advertising generated the cash-flow that enabled the saturation of mass-media into our lives.
One way to extinguish the urge to throw your time and money at short-term "investments" is to turn off the mass-media. Turn off the TVs and computers. Avoid social-media like the plague. Stop trying to keep up with Chad and Amber (who are frantically aping somebody else). Study couples who are five and ten years and twenty years older than you are and who are happy and content. Ask them how they did it. I bet they don't tell you it was because they spent their tax return on a downpayment for a Jet-Ski or because they are spending $800 a month on their phone bill.
Of course, the investment with the longest duration is Eternal Life, which was the main message of what Jesus was talking about. I believe that weening ourselves from the short-term, dopamine rush of short-term gratification makes it much easier to contemplate salvation. But I might be wrong.
The constant dopamine rush keeps people addicted to short term "investments" and away from the "boring" bible stuff, like salvation.
ReplyDeleteTheres a reason for Luke 16:19-31 The rich man and Lazarus.
And Matthew 19:24
Cheap dopamine rushes make us "rich".
It begs the question: Are there genetic differences in degree of craving for dopamine fixes and variation in the number of exposures to create addiction? That is research that will never get funded in the US due to political reasons, but it is an important question, even if only for the variation in "satiation" with regard to food; obesity being a huge problem in much of the world.
DeleteNature vs nurture, eh?
DeleteMASSIVE Dopamine rushes is why street drugs work so well. Some can "do it once" and walk away but far more crave that NEXT ONE and the NEXT ONE...
Crosby of Crosby Seals and Nash fame did a documentary of his life and speaking of drugs said the FIRST RUSH was I AM GOD and all the rest of the time you were seeking that FIRST RUSH.
Thus the often outrageous lawless behaviors to get enough money to get that NEXT RUSH.
Non street drug dopamine fixes are smaller but still powerful in influencing behavior. The Obesity problem is one obvious factoid.
And even the "STRONG" are bathed in ongoing dopamine fixes offered as often as you're on the screen time and such.
God created us with wetware 1.0.
A strong faith in Him and His Son is an upgrade but like all programming can be corrupted (by Satan).
Satan a prideful disobedient servant created by God knows our weaknesses.
You might want to re-read Job friend. Satan and God talk to each other.
Like street drugs you CAN Avoid them. But the threat is always lurking like the Dragon in the night.
Yes, you might be wrong.
ReplyDeleteBut I don't think so ...
A little East of Paris
Land is a mixed bag. In the growth stage, assembling an "empire". But when the enterprise is over or cannot continue the cash flow? Parted back out to the benefit of the heirs, or possibly their detriment.
ReplyDeleteJerry
More fearsome is the taxes that are levied on the land.
DeleteThat was my thought. Land is difficult to get cash flow from, and the cost of carrying it is not in your control. I like the aesthetics of owning land (privacy), but have come to realize that unless you can find a way to generate income from it, it can be a financial drain.
DeleteParticularly when the real estate assessors come around, and local government decides they will handle their inflation problems by raising your property tax rates.
Everybody wants more income and the counties are using loopholes to bypass state limits on how fast they can increase property taxes.
DeleteYou need to find your own loopholes also - many jurisdictions have some type of ag tax reduction, others have owner occupied or over 65 tax reductions, etc. For example, my in laws halve their property taxes by keeping a couple goats.
As we look for a better property, I am staying away from the fancy manicured places and want an older place with enough space it doesn't need expanded. That has the added bonus of being low profile and less worried about keeping up appearances.
Jonathan
P.S. as governments seek more revenue, keeping a low profile in many ways will become very important.
Another potential issue is if you own land that you do not live on or are regularly able to visit. The value may be there, but the ability to maintain and care for it may be minimal which can diminish the value.
DeleteERJ, I think the "do not expose yourself to mass media and social media" are great recommendations as you likely will not desire that which you do not see or know about. Another practice, at least for me, is limiting the amount of "new things" I think I might be interested in. I have, in the past, gone "all in" for something that was a passing fancy.
ReplyDeleteIn lieu of an abacus, I would humbly suggest a good slide rule
ReplyDeleteGood suggestion. When my engineer dad passed away, one of the first things I took possession of was a small box he had kept of maybe a dozen slide rules, some of which were high end for their time.
DeleteI agree about investing in readying ourselves for eternal life beats keeping up with the latest influencer trends all hollow. Also since many wise people are warning that some of the excesses of the last fifty or so years by a government running trillions in deficits to appease those who feel entitled to give aways etc could lead to another Great Depression perhaps your list of worldly goods worthy of investment could be summed up with the advice from people who lived thru the 1930’s “use it up, wear it out, make do or do without”.
ReplyDelete