There’s no way that Michael Jackson or whoever Jackson should have a million thousand droople billion dollars, and then there’s people starving. There’s no way! There’s no way that these people should own planes and other people don’t have houses. Apartments. Shacks. Drawers. Pants! I know you’re rich. I know you got 40 billion dollars, but can you just keep it to one house? You only need ONE house. And if you only got two kids, can you just keep it to two rooms? I mean why have 52 rooms and you know there’s somebody with no room?! It just don’t make sense to me. It don’t.
Tupac Shakur
One of my favorite pastors and authors is Tim Keller. He’s on the Mount Rushmore of theology for me, along with Brennan Manning, Anne Lamott, CS Lewis and John Eldredge. Keller has some funny moments in his sermons over the years, where he mentions movies he watches anytime they’re on: Back to the Future is one. To him, the theology of Marty Mcfly resonates. Who am I to argue with TK? I’m the same with Scorsese’s Goodfellas, the Coen Brothers’ No Country for Old Men, and Coppola’s Apocalypse Now. I’ll watch them over and over, they’re utterly intoxicating due to the characters, dialogue, artistry, music scores, and the emotions that bubble up during the ride.
There are also movies and programs I try to avoid, or I have to ensure my compass is pointed north while watching. Californication was one, Entourage was another. Both had too much sex and cool circumstances that could send my mind on a bender. Music has the effect too, songs by Mazzy Star, Jeff Buckley and Radiohead can transport me to a melancholy hotel where I can’t stay. Everyone has their unique kryptonite, those are some of mine. I had a buddy once who couldn’t listen to Pink Floyd or The Doors because their music made him think about weed too much… and he liked him some weed at breakfast, lunch and dinner.
The Showtime program Billions is one of those shows. Oh Lordy, like catnip for dudes! Let’s see, it includes heavy doses of power, manipulation, wealth, domination of an opponent, and the various accouterments that come with winning at all costs. I can watch it, but after each episode I have to remind myself of what’s important as a Christ follower. The characters speak clever dialogue we wish we could produce in the heat of the moment, but in reality only exist from a brilliant script writer. It’s fun to keep up with the various pop culture and music references peppered throughout, sorta like Tarantino in many of his films. It also seems that many of the male characters are required to deliver their lines in a sinister, whispery baritone. Criminy, it’s like TV crack I tell ya! Plus, Damian Lewis has reached the level where he can read a Starbucks menu for two hours and make it compelling.
For me the barometer is a question of which option revs me up, the darkness of Billions, or the idea of volunteering at a homeless shelter? THAT’S where we tell on ourselves. I have to choose to serve, to volunteer, to give to others. My natural inclination is to let Vegas rule, and let all that fun darkness wash over me. Thankfully I now have a healthy blood flowing inside known as the Holy Spirit. It cleanses those desires and helps me see them for what they are: not the best outcome if I let them run rampant.
When does wealth intoxicate?
Before I run down a Biblical tangent, I want to preface my points. For one, God is a worker, God wants us to work hard, using all the gifts He’s given us. He wants our work to be a collaboration with Him, and He started this in the very beginning when He gave Adam his first action items: naming the animals in Genesis 2:19-20.
Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals.
Genesis 2:19-20
The Lord also gives us clear boundaries regarding how wealth can take our eyes off the prize. The parable of the seeds is in all three synoptic Gospels, I prefer Luke’s version due to the word pleasures.
The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature.
Luke 8:14
In the parable, Christ is saying the seeds of what’s important in life are planted in us. The seed being the Word of God. Boom, right there I’ve already lost 40% of the people reading this. “Come on, Bible crap!? Buzzkill, (whomp-whomp).” Ah, but the richness of scripture is how damn timeless it is. The parable of the seed has three examples of how the important thing in life gets snatched away, or doesn’t take root due when tested by the hard times; and the third which relates to Billions, is the worries, riches and pleasures we encounter. Scripture talks about money being A root of evil, not THE as often misquoted (1 Timothy 6:10). That’s why I say work is good, money is good, as an endeavor and commodity. But money, sex and booze seem to be the things that grab hold of us like a constrictor. Actually, it’s the opposite, we grab them and squeeze as much life out of them as we can, not realizing our lives are being consumed.
Which is what makes Billions so damn seductive. I’m lying if I say I don’t care about winning; that I don’t care about having more money, sex and influence than the other guy; that I don’t want to be known as a powerful man. If I don’t have scripture as a compass, what do I use as my navigator? I have friends who say culture steers them. Yikes, try finding the right direction in our current climate. What about inner fortitude? All well and fine until you realize how often your gut feelings are wrong (read Malcolm Gladwell’s Blink for examples).
The slide towards ineffectiveness is subtle. In other words, if I’m not consciously making choices that sacrifice my mighty agenda, I’ll slide into a cozy American Dream lifestyle, the nice vacations, the bigger home. Again, NOT saying leave your career behind, NOT saying vacations are bad. But what if your life looked like some of the doctors I met on Mercy Ships, who worked three months out of the year while serving on Mercy Ships for nine? They didn’t leave their careers, they simply shifted focus to things of eternal value, and kept Billions in its proper place as entertainment only, and not a life goal.
See ya next time. ML