In A Place That I No Longer Belong

Our family recently spent a week on vacation Palm Desert, California. It didn’t take me long to discover that I didn’t belong there.

The cars on the streets were incredible. We saw expensive cars that we have never even heard of. When we went home, my son and I would look them up on the Internet, only to find that many of them cost well over $100,000. The opulence and showy demonstration of wealth was amazing to behold.

While watching a poolside showing of “Finding Nemo” one evening at our condo, two men walked by and were comparing the pool’s projection video quality to the units they have at home. One guy couldn’t get enough of saying, “You have to come see the one that I bought…”

Driving through a nearby neighborhood, a realtor tracked us down twice. He tried to convince us that it was a great time to buy – the house we were standing in front of was selling for only $1.2 million. But he assured us that there were many to be had in that neighborhood for “as little as $800,000 to $900,000”. My kid’s jaws were on the floor. I just laughed.

While walking into a restaurant one night with my family, a couple was walking out and she actually turned to the man and said, “Now, I want to talk about the red Ferrari…” Our family exchanged surprised glances with each other. To be fair, our mini-van is a racy metallic red, so I can understand the lady’s color choice…

At one time, I think I would have liked being among these people. When I first started my career, I could have been caught up in the pursuit for more and more possessions. Now, I’m not so much turned off as I am saddened by the vapidity I see in a life spent pursuing nothing more than material gain. I think it’s a good sign that I don’t harbor even a tinge of jealousy. I am sad for these people because they are spending the currency of this life on things that break and which fade away, with no thought for what eternity holds.

But perhaps the saddest thing we saw on our vacation was a twelve-year old boy playing by himself in the kid’s playroom at the resort. It’s a room filled with video games, ping-pong, air hockey and other activities that the average child might enjoy for a time. He was entertaining himself with a ping-pong paddle and ball, and was clearly all alone. When we visited the room several hours later, he was still there – and still by himself. It was all too clear that he had been dropped off by his parents to spend the day while they were out vacationing on their own. It’s enough to make me want to cry. I could never leave my kids by themselves to endure a whole day of loneliness while I went off seeking my own entertainment. My spirit weeps for the boy and his parents, who are missing out on the wonders of togetherness and the joy of just being a family. All too soon, those days will be behind us.

Lord, I commit these few years you have given me to pursuing good, honest, and worthy pursuits. I pledge not to be distracted by wealth and the temporary comfort that it brings. Instead, I ask that You lead me to a life that is productive for You first, and which trusts that You will provide only what I need. And finally, I give my covenant to my children that I will treasure these few years that I have with them – to spend it together pursuing God’s will and the wonders of His creation. Nothing can ever take the place of this time we have together, and I promise to give all I have to them, so that they will grow up knowing the awesome power, glory and wonder of God’s promises.

Maybe There Is a Reason Behind All of the Financial Turmoil?

The recent stock market decline has a lot of people nervous about their future. With multi-hundred-point swings and an overall steady decline, there is genuine fear in people’s eyes about the uncertainty ahead. It is clear that the foundation upon which many people were relying – their financial position – has quickly been eroded.

Our culture in America has certainly gravitated toward one of wealth. But, the history of our nation shows a move from ownership of property towards one of debt and borrowing. As long as debt can be freely extended with a decent chance of being repaid, the whole model hangs together. But when one piece of the puzzle begins to fall apart, the entire system reacts out of fear. The mortgage crisis displays this phenomenon, where consumers were given loans which they were not able to maintain. These high-risk loans were bundled and sold to investment banks, which attracted investors by offering better-than-average returns. But as people gradually reached the point where they could not make their mortgage payments, and balloon payments began to hit, they walked away from their obligations. The whole shell game came tumbling down, and no one went unaffected. Even if you did the right thing and refused to buy that expensive house that your lender assured you that you could afford, you will now find your tax dollars going to fund those who could not resist the temptation.

One might think that this would lead people to step back and re-evaluate what they can truly afford, and make changes to accommodate their financial position. But we continue to be bombarded by advertisements and government officials who tell us we should not give up the American dream – even if we reached out for it much earlier than we were able to pay for it. Giving up our possessions in favor of something more affordable rails against everything that the media and the advertisers tell us.

There is a trend in our culture to sacrifice long-term security for short-term satisfaction. The “investment” in material things is often seen as a kind of competition between individuals. I had the opportunity to work for a fast-paced, high-tech company a few years ago. I was about ten years older than most of the people I worked with, and was one of the few who was married - let alone one of the only ones who had children. I was amazed at the intense competition that was in play among the younger individuals for acquiring new “toys”. At the beginning of each new work-week, there was much sharing of what was purchased on the weekend. I have to admit, I never really connected with my fellow employees when I shared my own account of a successful child potty training moment!

The focus on acquiring wealth has affected America in one very important way. It has taken our eyes off our God and His plan for our lives. I genuinely believe that families in the United States 250 years ago spent more time together in simple ways. They may have sat around the fire at night in conversation with each other, reading books, or furthering their education. The time that we spend shopping, watching television, and worrying about finances was likely spent in more productive pursuits. When viewed from a spiritual perspective, the constant pursuit of financial gain distracts us from godly pursuits. Have we turned into a nation of selfish, godless individuals?

I admit that part of me thinks it would do us some good to lapse into another period of financial depression. When money is scarce, it makes us turn to things other than the pursuit of wealth. Perhaps God has a plan to revive our nation though a lesson of this nature. Perhaps He wants us to stop focusing on the new cars, the cable television shows, and the emails piling up on our Blackberries. Instead, we would be better served to recapture that time, get down on our knees, and ask for God’s blessing on our nation and families. My favorite book of all time, The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck, harkens back to a time when families had nothing, where farms and possessions were wiped out, and where families had to bond together to scratch out a simple existence. Yet while reading that book, I can’t help but get a sense that people were closer and more focused on what was truly important. While the Joad family in that book suffered heartache after heartache, it seems that they were closer to God in many respects. And isn’t that the ultimate long-term investment?