When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the LORD your God for the good land he has given you. Be careful that you do not forget the LORD your God . . . You may say to yourself, "My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me." But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth... ~ Deuteronomy 8:10-11, 17-18 (NIV)
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This week, one of my co-workers was mentioning a book she'd bought and was looking forward to reading, about Warren Buffett. I said, "Who's Warren Buffett?" She was astounded that I didn't know who he was. Come to find out, he is considered the richest man in the world, with a net worth of $62 billion! Gee, I guess my subscription to The Wall Street Journal hasn't done me much good, has it? .... oh, wait, I forgot -- I don't subscribe to The Wall Street Journal. I feel better now. :-)
She was particularly impressed by the man, rather than his millions (or his billions). He lives in the same modest home he bought in Omaha, Nebraska in 1958 (for $31,500), drives his own 2003 Cadillac (not chauffeurred), and his actual annual salary is about $100,000. He gives vast sums to charity and has no plans to bequeath vast sums to his children, stating, "I want to give my kids just enough so that they would feel that they could do anything, but not so much that they would feel like doing nothing."
This guy has good business sense, and good parenting sense. Unfortunately, he doesn't have good God sense. You see, Warren Buffett claims to be an agnostic. He gives no credit to his Maker for the great economic mind God gave him, the ingenuity for creating wealth, the drive and ability to work hard at what he does. God gave Warren Buffett all that he has . . . his talents, his family and friends, his wealth. I am sorry that Warren doesn't know the God who loves him. I am sorry that he doesn't understand and appreciate the blessings that have been poured out on him by the Lord of Lords and King of Kings.
At a charity on-line auction, Mr. Buffett auctioned off a luncheon with him for a whopping $2.1 million. An Asian businessman and up to seven companions paid handsomely to have a "power lunch" with the great financier. That's pretty impressive, wouldn't you say? Yet, more impressive is the fact that Jesus paid with his blood on the cross, so that Warren could dine with Him forever at the feast table in heaven. Yet, Warren hasn't RSVP'd saying he'll come. In fact, he doesn't even know about the invitation. Who will tell him? I pray that the Holy Spirit will use believers in Mr. Buffet's life to awaken his spirit to the presence of God, and that he can accept the truth about God and His redemption plan through Jesus Christ. Because no matter how much money he has made throughout his life and how good of a person he is toward others, without Jesus, he is without hope and without life.
May we all remember to thank God for the blessings He gives us. The roof over our heads, the jobs we hold, the food we eat, the family we belong to. He is our Good King -- may we be humbly grateful for His beautiful reign and provision, and may we honor Him through holy living and active personal witness.
Love,
Joelene
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