The Generational Meltdown

My maternal grandfather, Wally, passed away in 2008.  He was 93.  He was old enough to remember the Great Depression as a teenager in Columbia, Missouri.  He would hold my attention adeptly as he spun yarns about his parents playing Pitch with neighbors as a free form of entertainment, neighborhood vegetable gardens and tight-knit communities.

He married a wonderful woman, Opal Mae Teed (for whom my younger daughter is named), and together they bought their first house in Chillicothe, Missouri for a paltry $13,000 (of course, it was not a meager sum in the 1950s).  They lived frugal lives, hardly ever borrowing money for anything, and I wouldn't hesitate to say that borrowing money to buy the house probably caused them significant turmoil.  You see, they wanted to make sure they lived WELL within their means.

Fast forward one generation to my parents' generation.  Certainly a bit more liberal with the use of credit.  They would borrow to buy a car, and would likely have one or two credit cards, but most people in my parents' generation were likely to conscientiously pay off the credit card each month, and not go out and buy some extravagant vehicle that they would finance for 8 years.

My generation has taken the leap into the abyss.  We finance everything.  We finance houses, cars, furniture, dental work, cosmetic surgery, appliances, motorcycles, education, private school tuition, exclusive preschool tuition, fishing boats...heck, we even use credit cards to pay for Taco Bell, gasoline even tithes and offerings.

I'm pretty sure that my grandparents' generation would like to leap forward in time (I'm asking for a reasonable suspension of disbelief) and slap the living daylights out of us.

What has happened to us?

When did the wheels fly off this train?

When did it become okay to live consistently beyond our means?

How have we not been awakened by the current economic crisis?

You see, I think that the economic crisis suffers from the same probably as 9/11.  In the days immediately following 9/11, we huddled together in a show of patriotic solidarity against the forces that wanted to see our demise.  But after six months (perhaps longer), the Kum-Ba-Yah spirit faded, and we were back to bitter partisan divides, class warfare and the general vitriol that defines our society.  Our collective memory sucks.

Likewise, after the financial meltdown, there was a collective belt-tightening that took place.  But I don't even think it took six months for Americans to get tired of living with the sacrifices required to climb out of our mess.  Agreed, the government could stand to tighten their belts a bit too, but personal responsibility is just that:  personal.

We see people suffering around us, and we wish that there is something that we could do for them.  But we bemoan our own circumstances as the reason we can't do more.

Are the circumstances self-inflicted?  Are we still trying to push our lifestyles over the line of what we can truly afford?

It is my firm belief that if we take a step back and examine all the places our money is going, we might find that there are some financial hemorrhages that could be quickly cauterized to free up resources that would allow us to give more generously.

My fear is that we will continue further down the path of highly-leveraged self-indulgence.  If we do, where will that leave our children...and theirs?

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Jesse S. Greever is the CEO of 3G Publishing, a digital publisher for Christian authors.  If you are a Christian author and have a manuscript that you think is worthy of publication, check out the submission guidelines and follow the directions for manuscript submissions.  Greever is also a co-author of the book, Learning to Give in a Getting World, and numerous fiction titles from Untreed Reads publishing.

You can become a fan of 3G Publishing on FaceBook:  http://www.facebook.com/3GPublishing

You can follow 3GPublishing on Twitter (@3GPublishing):  https://twitter.com/#!/3GPublishing

Learning to Give in a Getting World, by Marc Farnell and Jesse Greever, is available as both a paperback and eBook at the following locations:

 

CreateSpace (paperback, $13.99)

Amazon.com (paperback, $13.99; eBook, $8.99)

It is also available to Amazon Prime members as a free eBook download as a part of the Kindle Lending Library.  Pastors and church administrators can contact me directly at jesse@accidental-author.com to find out about discounts available for churches that wish to use this for teaching and small group curriculum.

You can also become a fan of the book at www.facebook.com/LearningToGive.

Follow me on Twitter:  https://twitter.com/#!/JesseSGreever

3G Publishing is ALIVE!

I'm very excited to announce that 3G Publishing is now officially open!  I had the idea for 3G Publishing when my editor at Untreed Reads mentioned that they had a number of manuscripts that they had to reject based on the content being Christian-themed, which simply falls outside of the scope of their acceptance profile.

So, using Untreed Reads as our official eBook distributor, we are now officially "open for business".

Head on over to www.3gpublishing.com and check out the EXTREMELY simple website.  It is mainly a placeholder as we get other functionalities up and going, but it serves the purpose of giving our submission guidelines and other pertinent information.

Also, become a follower of 3G Publishing on Twitter:  @3gpublishing

Stay tune for more GREAT stuff about this exciting venture as we get ready to release our first few eBooks in the coming month.

Taking the Test

Malachi 3:10 is bandied about a great deal in sermons about stewardship and giving back to God generously.  If you don't know it, it goes a little something like this.

Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it. (Malachi 3:10, NIV 1984)

There are so many wonderful things about this verse, and although I realize that it pre-dates the New Testament, I also believe that God's Promises are still pertinent today, especially when God talks about blessing obedience.

There is one very subtle nuance to this verse, however:  the order in which the thoughts are presented.  Notice that God requests obedience FIRST.  He says "Test me in this...", then he makes the promise of unfathomable blessings.

I've approached this topic previously, in a post entitled "Out of Order", where I encourage people to stop trying to "wheel and deal" with God.  I also talk about the fact that blessings FOLLOW obedience.  We shouldn't approach God with an if-you-do-this-for-me-then-I'll-start-giving attitude, because that is entirely out of order.

The point of this post today is to talk about the fact that God could have presented this differently.  He could have said, "I'm going to test you in this by pouring out blessings on you, and I'll see if you throw open your floodgates and bring the whole tithe in to the storehouse."  Surely this would be easier for us.  I mean, who wouldn't want an enormous and undeserved outpouring of blessing?

But there is a very specific reason why Malachi 3:10 is not reverse in this way:  we are simply not terribly trustworthy.  Knowing that human nature has not changed significantly over the past few millennia, I doubt this was much different in the days of Malachi.  God, being the ultimate in wisdom knows that obedience cannot be bought.  Obedience must be the cause and blessing must be the effect. It just doesn't work the other way around.  Our nature sees to that.

So, as we continue this blog journey learning to give in these uncertain times, remember that God invites us to step out in faith and obedience.  Only when we do that, will God open the floodgates of Heaven and bless us.

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Learning to Give in a Getting World, by Marc Farnell and Jesse Greever, is available as both a paperback and eBook at the following locations:

CreateSpace (paperback, $13.99)

Amazon.com (paperback, $13.99; eBook, $8.99)

It is also available to Amazon Prime members as a free eBook download as a part of the Kindle Lending Library.  Pastors and church administrators can contact me directly at jesse@accidental-author.com to find out about discounts available for churches that wish to use this for teaching and small group curriculum.

You can also become a fan of the book at www.facebook.com/LearningToGive.

Follow me on Twitter:  https://twitter.com/#!/JesseSGreever

What's My Motivation?

It's a cliche joke-y type of situation.  An actor is having trouble with a particular scene, and they ask the director "What's my motivation?".  Of course, this is not just a catchphrase for a clueless or difficult actor.  Sometimes, this question can be uttered in an honest request to understand the character more fully.

You see, the question "What's my motivation?" has to do with the internals (emotions and psychology) that motivate and prompt the externals (actions and attitudes).  Think about recent decisions you've made, and trace them back to the internal elements that motivate them.  I think you'll find that (under most circumstances) there are some very logical causes for our choices, however senseless they may seem to others who cannot see our internal motivations.

Think about the follow extreme example:

No one robs a bank on a whim. There must exist at least one very strong emotional or psychological motivation.  If a person is in a desperate situation, and is about to lose their house to foreclosure and their vehicles to repossession, it may eventually lead to a situation where bank robbery seems like an unfortunate but necessary last resort (key word in this sentence is "seem"; bank robbery is never a necessary last resort).  Financial desperation (internal) can motivate someone to rob a bank, however strange that might seem to an observer.  Likewise, relentless greed (internal) coupled with a lack of professional skills required to get a high-paying job can motivate criminal activity like bank robbery.

But, I think it can be said with relative confidence that very few people wake up in the morning, hop in the car and are on their way to work when the spy a bank along the side of the road, and for no other reason other than the mere existence of the bank, they decide to pop in and hold up a group of people at gunpoint for a few bags full of cash.  There MUST be some sort of internal motivator.

Along these lines, today I'm dealing with the question I hear every now and then that goes something like this:  "Is it okay for followers of Christ to work hard to become wealthy?"

That is a difficult question to answer.  There are people on both sides of the debate that would argue that a firm answer of "Yes" or "No" is warranted without qualification.  I think that oversimplifies the issue a bit.

We are told, as Christians, to work in our chosen vocation as if we are working for the LORD (Col 3:23).  Therefore, if we are to work with great diligence in our jobs, as if Jesus was our boss, it stands to reason that hard work sometimes (not always, I realize) can result in promotions and positions of greater authority.  And with those situations can come additional income.

I do not think it is sinful for people to strive for excellence in their careers.  In fact, I think this is Godly (notable exceptions include prostitution, working in a strip club, bar tending, or things that deal with activities that displease God).  However, to get to the true heart of the matter, we have to know something about the motivation for striving to earn more money.

Is the motivation to earn more money so that more money is available for charitable giving and generosity?  I'm not saying that every penny earned should go toward giving, but with an increase in income, would the increase in giving be proportional?

OR, is the motivation to earn more money so that more items that might be considered luxury or frivolous can be obtained?  This is clearly sinful behavior.

The bottom line is this:  I believe that on its face, striving for excellence in your career which may include earning more money can be honorable.  However, the motivations for doing so MUST be examined.

Ultimately, the answer to the question of motivation will shed light on who is at the center of our lives.  If Jesus is at the center, our motivation will be to earn more so we can pour out more in service to others.  If self is at the center, there is no doubt that any extra income will be frittered away buying more junk that ultimately accomplishes nothing for the Kingdom of God.

So, I ask you:  What's your motivation?

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Learning to Give in a Getting World, by Marc Farnell and Jesse Greever, is available as both a paperback and eBook at the following locations:

CreateSpace (paperback, $9.99) NEW LOWER PRICE!

Amazon.com (paperback, $9.99; eBook, $5.99)  NEW LOWER PRICES!

It is also available to Amazon Prime members as a free eBook download as a part of the Kindle Lending Library.  Pastors and church administrators can contact me directly at jesse@accidental-author.com to find out about discounts available for churches that wish to use this for teaching and small group curriculum.

You can also become a fan of the book at www.facebook.com/LearningToGive.

Follow me on Twitter:  https://twitter.com/#!/JesseSGreever

What & WHAT???

Okay, I realize that may be the dumbest and most meaningless blog post title in the history of the Universe, but I'm sticking with it.

This article deals with "Health & Wealth" doctrine.  First, let's define it, then let's take it apart.

My very simple definition for Health & Wealth is the idea that a believer should expect great monetary and materialistic rewards, as well as supernaturally protected health, in return for giving money faithfully to God.  Now, I certainly admire the fervor and enthusiasm with which subscribers to this particularly self-centered doctrine give of their resources.  I believe that everyone, whether they subscribe to Health & Wealth doctrine or not, should give with such gusto!

But the problem with Health & Wealth is that the excitement for giving is derived from an insidiously wrongheaded idea that fabulous wealth is only a few steps away, as long as the giver "believes strongly enough" that they will receive material blessings in return from God.

I would like to present some of the more incorrect ideas of this false doctrine, and address them one at a time.

1.  Treating God like some sort of "high yield investment".  

The idea that we can simply give faithfully to God and He will return what we give plus some exorbitant amount over and above sounds, at best, like a pitch for the world's most ridiculous Ponzi Scheme, and at worst, like a pitch from a snake-oil salesman.  There are very few instances in the Bible where figures who were faithful to God received tremendous wealth and long life simply because they were faithful.  Were there wealthy people in the Bible who were also faithful to God and generous?  There is no doubt.  Was it caused by their faithfulness in giving?  I think you would be incredibly hard-pressed to find evidence for that.  

I know people who are incredibly faithful in their giving, who are also wealthy.  However, as I often remind people (because it is one of my favorite fallacies of logic), correlation does not equal causation.  More often than not, in these cases, these people are gifted (by God) with talents that afford them the ability to have lucrative careers, but to say that their wealth is caused by faithful stewardship is willfully ignoring reality.

There are all sorts of problems with this beyond just the cause/effect fallacy of logic.  I know plenty of people who have sacrificed to give generously, and yet wealth beyond their wildest dreams hasn't come knocking at their door.  In fact, in some cases, they barely have enough to afford their needs.  But, God has promised to provide our needs, so His "end of the bargain" is certainly being held up.  Likewise, there are some truly evil people in the world who are hundreds and thousands of times wealthier than some of the most faithful givers in the Christian church.  If God rewards His people monetarily for faithful giving, why wouldn't he also devastate those who were unfaithful and downright evil?  It doesn't make any sense if you believe God is a God of justice.

2.  Treating God like some sort of "health insurance plan".

The simple idea that faithful stewardship guarantees a long life, full of many healthy years is so ludicrous, I hardly want to give it any space on this blog.  If this were true, then Billy Graham would be as vibrant as ever.  Compassionate, caring and giving Christians commonly find themselves in the turmoil of health issues such as cancer, heart disease and stroke.  To say that these afflictions are somehow caused by some form of sin or disobedience is a twisted and dark fantasy.  Paul was afflicted with an unknown "thorn in his side", and in spite of pouring his life out in missions, God never saw fit to take it from him.  But, if God rewards people who give faithfully with long-life and great health, why would this have been the case?

3.  God wants your life to be easy.

Bull!  There are too many verses to count that indicate that the Christian life is going to be full of struggle, trials and tribulation.  The Christian life is hard!  God has NO interest in the comfort of believers, and it is actually not in the best interest of believers to be wealthy.  In the story of the "rich young ruler" in Matthew Chapter 19, Jesus makes it very clear that it is easier for a "camel to pass through the eye of a needle" than for someone who is wealthy to enter the Kingdom of Heaven (Matt 19:24).  If we are to believe that the words of Jesus are true, then why would God seek to make it more difficult for His children to enter His Kingdom by blessing them with tremendous wealth?  Truth be told, I don't think anyone wants it to be more difficult to live a faithful Christian walk, nor do I think that God wishes to make things more difficult for those who are striving to live faithfully.

There are many other things I could say on the topic, but these things have been weighing on my heart and mind today.  A good friend of mine, and wonderful Christian minister, was taken to the hospital today for 100% blockage in one of his arteries.  He had surgery and is recovering quickly (all glory to God!).  And I know beyond a shadow of a doubt, that he is faithful in giving generously of his time, talents and treasures.  And to subscribed to the idea that his affliction is somehow caused by a lack of faithfulness is absolute stupidity, plain and simple.

Get well soon, John Wolfe!

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Learning to Give in a Getting World, by Marc Farnell and Jesse Greever, is available as both a paperback and eBook at the following locations:

CreateSpace (paperback, $9.99) NEW LOWER PRICE!

Amazon.com (paperback, $9.99; eBook, $5.99)  NEW LOWER PRICES!

It is also available to Amazon Prime members as a free eBook download as a part of the Kindle Lending Library.  Pastors and church administrators can contact me directly at jesse@accidental-author.com to find out about discounts available for churches that wish to use this for teaching and small group curriculum.

You can also become a fan of the book at www.facebook.com/LearningToGive.

Follow me on Twitter:  https://twitter.com/#!/JesseSGreever

Putting Our "No-Money" Where Our Mouths Are

Yes, it's Day Two of the great Learning to Give in a Getting World giveaway.  We've already had over 700 people download the free eBook, which has put it squarely at the #1 spot for free downloads in the "Christian Living" category.  However, what is truly surprising is that we are now #59 for free downloads in the "Nonfiction" category.  I am actually quite astounded at that.

Anyway, to the point of today's blog.  Marc Farnell (my co-author) and I were discussing our future plans for the book, which has been the very definition of a slow-starter (or slow-burner, whichever you prefer).  It is incredibly difficult to sell a book on sacrificial giving during a recession.  I think we expected that.  But, it became very clear to us that the message was too important to just let it languish on the virtual shelves of Amazon.  So, we decided to give the book away for a period of two days, starting yesterday and ending tonight around midnight.

Once we made the decision, there was an incredible peace about it, almost as if God was whispering "Duh!" in our ears.  If we're going to offer a book on generous giving, why not start by giving it away?  Doesn't that make sense?

So, we are putting our (non-)money where our mouths are, and we are offering the book for free, where we stand to gain no money off the downloads of the book.  Would it be nice if we made some money off the book to compensate Marc for his time in preparing the messages on which the book is based, on the six months or so that I spent compiling his messages and turning them into a narrative?  I would be lying if I said "no", so I won't.  But, is there great blessing in following God's will?  Yes, I know this to be true.

I don't know what will happen with this book in the future, but I trust that God will do whatever He wants with it.  It is our loaves and fishes that we've brought to Him, and if He decides to "feed the 5000" with it, then so be it.  If the 700 or so (well, now 720 since I've started writing this post) people who have downloaded it already were all the people He wanted to reach with this book, then I'm at peace with thinking of the writing of this book as an act of service.

Of course, tomorrow, the book goes back on sale.  But rest assured that when Marc and I first started writing this, we made a pact that we would model the behavior espoused in the book, and we would not just give 10% of the royalties to the Lord's ministries, but we would give 50%.  It just wouldn't seem right any other way.  In that way, we are actually putting our money where our mouths are.

But for now, we're putting the "no money" that we're getting from these free days where our mouths are.

And it feels good...

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Learning to Give in a Getting World, by Marc Farnell and Jesse Greever, is available as both a paperback and eBook at the following locations:

CreateSpace (paperback, $13.99)

Amazon.com (paperback, $13.99; eBook, FREE 3/21/2012 and 3/22/2012)

It is also available to Amazon Prime members as a free eBook download as a part of the Kindle Lending Library.  Pastors and church administrators can contact me directly at jesse@accidental-author.com to find out about discounts available for churches that wish to use this for teaching and small group curriculum.

You can also become a fan of the book at www.facebook.com/LearningToGive.

Follow me on Twitter:  https://twitter.com/#!/JesseSGreever

Learning to Give In a Getting World is FREE for Two Days

All right everyone!  In the interest of practicing what I preach on this blog, I (along with my co-author, Marc Farnell) are offering our book, Learning to Give in a Getting World, a book about giving generously the way God would want us to give, is being offered free in eBook form at Amazon.com for the next two days (starting at approximately midnight Pacific Time), March 21st and 22nd.

There are no restrictions, and no limitations.  It also will not count against your Amazon Prime borrowing limits.  If a million people want to download it for free, then so be it (although I realize that is a bit of a pipe dream).  We are so passionate about this message, and getting it into the hands of Christ followers, that we are willing to give it away just so people can read the truth contained in the pages.  It is filled with encouragement, a little dose of rebuke, scriptural references, and testimonies from people whose lives have been changed by giving generously.  It is also a bit of a memoir of what awesome things can happen when God's people give generously to further outreach and ministries (based on the results of the Ninety Day Challenge to give generously at CrossRidge Church in Little Elm, TX).

Go check it out now!  Click here to be taken directly to the Amazon.com page.

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Learning to Give in a Getting World, by Marc Farnell and Jesse Greever, is available as both a paperback and eBook at the following locations:

CreateSpace (paperback, $13.99)

Amazon.com (paperback, $13.99; eBook, FREE 3/21/2012 and 3/22/2012)

It is also available to Amazon Prime members as a free eBook download as a part of the Kindle Lending Library.  Pastors and church administrators can contact me directly at jesse@accidental-author.com to find out about discounts available for churches that wish to use this for teaching and small group curriculum.

You can also become a fan of the book at www.facebook.com/LearningToGive.

Follow me on Twitter:  https://twitter.com/#!/JesseSGreever