Stick With the Basics

Staying current makes for a tiring pursuit.  I mean, there are so many avenues of information out there and we need discernment to know which path to take.  Nevertheless, I continue down some path each day that leads me to thinking about topics with relevance to both our generation and the next generation.

One such topic is making a living.  Yes, that thing we do upon finishing some level of education and enter the real world.  Maybe this is a Westernized notion, but we do need shelter and food on the table and the means to getting this here in the U.S. is through a job.

From some of my reading, I sense there is a redefinition of “making a living” in the works.  Particularly among the next generation, there appears to be a type of entrepreneurship going on that espouses linking a new startup venture with some technological discovery that will make millions.  For example, the rush to create new applications for the I-Phone seems to be a particularly ripe area for making money these days.  The number of new applications does appear to have a limit though.

Some like to refer to these entrepreneurs as “heroic,” that is, someone who ventures away from the common path to seek a new path of riches perhaps driven by a vision to make the world a better place for all of us.  Now this might be a stretch.  Can an I-Phone app make for a better world?  These things have a life span, you know, and they ultimately end up being replaced by something newer, faster, slicker.  Last time I checked my world was just fine even before the I-Phone.

This brings me to the point for the next generation—stick with the basics.  Begin by asking questions like, “What are the basic things needed in my life, the lives of the typical person or family here in this country?”  Or, “What are the basics for a successful business?”  We have pushed to the edge so much in recent years that I fear we have gotten away from an understanding of the basics.

Perhaps this is further clarified through a Proverb I read this morning.  “He who works his land will have abundant food, but he who chases fantasies lacks judgement” Proverbs 12:11.  Fantasies refer to schemes for making easy money.  Is that where we are today with the scads of schemes for making a buck on the web or with these unending myriads of applications for electronic devices?  Again, you can only carry these things out so far before they end up consuming the consumed.

The notion of “working the land” is what I would refer to as a basic.  Working the land implies a steadiness, a knowledge that there is a God who provides me something to do with my hands and helps me in this daily act of “making a living.”  If you work the land, you are dependent on good weather and regular attention to caring for the things you planted.  It seems that some of the next generation want to bypass the planting and get on to the reaping.  That is a rather short-term view.

Let’s return to the basics.  It may be more satisfying than you can imagine.

Are Jobs the New Assets?

Time Magazine, along with other media giants, deserves credit when they get our attention.  After all, isn’t that what communications is all about?  In the March 23 edition, the headline read “10 Ideas Changing the World Right Now.”  I looked at the headline curiously, wondering if the ideas would solve all of our economic issues or if they were just speculative enough to prompt further analysis from experts and amateurs.  If you are curious, check out the article to see where it leads your thinking—here is a link.

At the top of the list, Number 1, was this:  Jobs are the New Assets.  Was this supposed to make us feel better about the dwindling property and investment values we see around us?  Or was this a step toward some economic theory about human capital?  Maybe it’s a little of both.  It’s probably time to get out your Econ 101 book and revisit the section dealing with human capital.

The idea deserves merit.  Jobs define us, they give us an identity.  No longer will I look at my balance sheet for purpose in my life, I will look at each day with a job as something precious.  Is this too much a short-term perspective?  No, I think this thought contributes to the long-term notion that jobs represent the best assets a company holds.  If you have jobs, you have production.  If you have jobs, you have billable hours.  The corporate world lacks this long-term perspective when it rewards risk-takers with large bonuses at the expense of a steady, perhaps slower view that rewards dedication, dependability, and long-term value building.

Part of the next generation’s challenge with jobs will be to protect their human capital.  Don’t overlook the fact that skills require development.  Education helps.  An apprenticeship makes sense.  You can’t sit around in coffee shops day after day and expect to develop your human capital.  Get up and get moving toward some vocational outlet that intrigues you and maintains your interest.

Another thought about protecting your human capital’s worth:  stay healthy.  Years of smoking and drinking age you quickly.  Look at someone who does this stuff for 20 years and you’ll see the wear and tear on their physical bodies.  The scary part is not what you see, but what you don’t see.  Statistics from the Urban Institute in early 2009 show that about a third of all Americans develop some health-related limitation in their fifties and sixties.  As a result, many workers do not retire on their own timetable.

Some of the next generation seem to think they can ignore healthy habits.  It is strange, but many of those who call themselves “green” and seem more concerned about global warming than they do their own bodies probably lead the way in unhealthy habits.  The “greenies” tend to ignore their need for rest and use drugs and alcohol like they are necessary parts of a balanced diet (please excuse this short rant).

So, if you are your best asset, take care of yourself.  The next generation awaits.

What Would You Accomplish With Billions of Dollars?

I am watching with great interest the hoopla surrounding the “stimulus package” being offered by the Democrats in our U.S. Congress.  According to Daniel Henninger’s excellent analysis in today’s Wall Street Journal, this American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (just 700 pages of reading) is more a “self” stimulus bill than it is an economic stimulus bill because of how much would be spent on rebuilding the government’s infrastructure.  For example, the boast within the bill that says 3 million jobs will be created fails to clarify that these jobs will all be on our government’s payroll with the federal government as their boss.  Is this economic stimulus?  Sounds sketchy and a bit scary to me.

Whatever happened to zero-based budgeting?  You know, where we figure out what is needed first and then assign a cost.  It seems we have reversed this process to something like, “How much money can we spend or print?” and then let’s start putting everything into categories of spending.  We can’t operate our own homes this way.

I looked over some of the numbers in the stimulus package and have never seen so many zeros in all my life.   There is $6,000,000,000 for the construction, repair, and alteration of Federal buildings.  How about $375,000,000 to rebuild trails on our Federal lands?  Or we have the Weatherization Assistance Program chiming in at $6,200,000,000.  By the way, what is that $500,000,000 of expenses included within this?  No detail, just half-a-billion dollars of expenses.

Perhaps in contrast, I became aware that Wycliffe Bible Translators launched the Last Languages Campaign.  This campaign focuses on translating the Bible into 2300 languages that remain on their list of people groups without a Bible in their native language.  Bob Creson, President of Wycliffe, gathered their staff together to pray and plan this campaign.  It was fueled by a donor who asked the question, “If I gave you $100,000,000 for your work, what would you accomplish?”  This is cold, hard cash.  The Last Languages Campaign will enable all of these remaining languages to have a translation started by the year 2025.  The price tag is $1,000,000,000 (give or take a few dollars).

This represents billions of dollars that will accomplish something far-reaching on a scope that influences many people groups on the face of the earth.  It is not an “invest in ourselves” mentality like the Democrats are proposing, but rather an “invest in others” plan that will influence untold cultures and societies for the better.  The lesson for us, and for the next generation, is to look at how we invest in others and how we learn to be a conduit for good while we inhabit a short time on the face of this earth.  The present fades away, the eternal endures.  This must become our focus.

Madoff, Merckle, Wealth, and Suicide

Grim news hits hard. It appears that the unraveling of another business empire claimed a life this week in Germany. Adolf Merckle, a 74-year-old multibillionaire, apparently took his life after a failed attempt to restructure the finances of his family’s conglomerate.  Officials found his body on a train track.

I thought back just a month or so earlier to news about a French financier’s suicide in relation to the Bernard Madoff scandal. He oversaw a fund largely invested with Madoff that lost close to $1.5 billion.

There are others. On the same day as the Merckle news, The Wall Street Journal listed 4 apparent suicides of high-profile business officials occurring recently. WSJ probably figures obituaries sells newspapers these days.

How can we take this news and use it as a teaching point for the next generation?

First, let’s stress the importance of keeping your identity free from notions of personal wealth. This is nothing new, for it seems that men continue to yearn for the type of power and recognition that wealth has to offer.  A person’s identity needs something much greater than this earth has to offer.

Next, focus on developing quality relationships with balanced people. I wondered many times about the relationships these reported deaths have left behind. Are there family members with broken hearts? Any other friends who might come forward to share something positive about these men? Strange, such reports elude our attention.

Also, develop personal interests other than the ones money can buy. I can think of a few that require relatively little investment of money: reading (check out local libraries), gardening, cooking (you’ve got to eat), walking, listening to music, developing a skill, outdoor recreation, etc. Creativity helps. Don’t give in to notions that you are not creative.

Finally, cultivate your spiritual life. My personal relationship with Christ takes on new meaning when the media shouts the word “uncertainty.” I know what certainty is, and that is having a hope and a future because of the saving grace of God expressed through Jesus Christ. This makes life worth living, this gives life worth. This is the type of wealth you want to share with others.

Next generation, please realize that change rests with you. Notions of wealth reside within each generation, so ask God to help you change your heart and influence the hearts of others with true notions of worth.

Thinking About Fertility Rates, the Economy, and the Next Generation

A factor that gets little attention in the press today is the relationship of fertility rates to the economy.  This point struck a chord yesterday when I had the opportunity to hear economist Stuart Varney address a gathering of near 1000 accountants and financial professionals in Atlanta. With a bit of humor and unsettling reality, Varney explained why he thinks the fertility rates of the world should be of top concern.

A little background here—for a country to merely remain even in terms of population, it requires a fertility rate of at least 2.1.  There are 45 countries in the world that are well below this rate.  These countries include much of Europe, Russia, China, and Japan among others.  Translated, this means that population growth is negative for these countries.  The U.S. maintains close to a fertility rate of 2.1 only because of the number of immigrants here.  Of all the countries, the lowest fertility rate according to one report I read was in Spain, which was near 1.15.

Think this through with me for a moment in relationship to the economy.  An older, graying population that is living longer these days will need healthcare, housing, pensions, and other retirement benefits.  The model for providing these needs includes economic input from the younger generations.  If the populations are declining, who will help fund these needs for the older generation?

The governments think they can help. But again, with declining populations the tax rates must be much higher to even make a dent in these needs. Today, the governments sit in the unenviable position of trying to figure out the current economic crisis and it appears they struggle each day to fix on a strategy that is elusive.  The quest for a solution lingers no matter what is done.

When I observe the next generation, I see a generation less concerned with wealth creation and more concerned with solving the world’s issues.  I might suggest to them that the economy is one of the single-most important issues.  This is not to say that we want to preserve certain negative aspects of wealth creation, but that we want to consider how wealth creation enables us to address some of the other issues we face. I would ask, “What are the positive aspects of wealth creation?” This might help us adopt a better way to solve economic issues while at the same time addressing other complex issues.  The world is changing, and the next generation needs to be in a position to wisely lead when the baton is passed.  Let’s make sure we help them understand the times and extend ourselves as counselors and mentors.

A Fresh Perspective on Spending and Giving

“I’ve always said that one of the most boring things to do with money is spend it,” expressed philanthropist Robert Wilson in a recent article from The Chronicle of Philanthropy. I had to check myself on this. After paying the recent round of bills, I realized Mr. Wilson’s statement contained more than an ounce of truth.

Well, what about giving money away? Does it have to be boring? Are my decisions to give filled with joy and anticipation, or with routine angst? As a Christ follower, I would like to suggest that both your spending and giving could be joyous opportunities with a fresh perspective.

The lesson comes from the passage in 2 Corinthians 8:1-7 dealing with the generous giving of the Macedonian churches. Reading this passage reveals an equation that doesn’t make sense: affliction = abundance + abounding. According to this passage, joy and liberality in giving was produced out of affliction. The Macedonian churches gave beyond their ability to support the ministry of the church planters led by Paul and Titus. This resulted in an abundance for the work and an abounding in knowledge, diligence, and love.

The key appears in verse 5—they first gave themselves to the Lord, and then to the church. Many times when we teach the basics of stewardship we begin with the concept that God owns it all. Well, He does (Psalm 24) but stewardship training may be more effective if we teach to give ourselves to the Lord first. Giving ourselves means surrendering our wills to His will, putting the Lord first in all the things we do. Seeking His will in prayer, through the reading of God’s Word, and through fellowship with other believers contributes to our model for stewardship. The Macedonians gave themselves first to the Lord and look at the abundance that they gave out of their poverty.

I know the thinking—that if God owns it all, we will not argue about what to give. But if I do not first give myself to the Lord, then how will I know that He owns it all and that He wants me to support His work? My encouragement to the next generation of Christ Followers is to first give yourselves to the Lord, then to the work of the ministry of the church, and you will see great things happen in your stewardship and in your walk with the Lord.