Gregory Scott

Saving For A Storm

People often ask, “How much money should I have in savings?” Given the statistics showing how few Americans save, the first question perhaps should be, “Why save at all?” The answer is that savings promotes continuity.

Jesus likened those who acted on His words to building a house on a rock, as contrasted with building on sand. When the storm came, the house built on the rock stood while the one built on the sand fell. (Matt. 7:24-27). What’s interesting is both the wise man and the foolish man were subject to the same storm. In other words, surviving the storm was not a result of having been exempt from it but having prepared for it.

Everyone is subject to storms. Adversity is a given. What matters is how you prepare for it. Having money in savings allows one to weather the storm and keep going without getting slowed down or pulled off the path of one’s destiny. It provides continuity, a hedge against interruption. Continuity is “[a]n uninterrupted succession or flow.” (The American Heritage Dictionary, 4th Ed.).

Some may say this is not faith but trusting in savings and that real faith is trusting Jesus to get you out of the adversity once you find yourself in it. But that is not what Jesus said. Jesus said to prepare because storms will come. Faith is trusting in what Jesus said and acting in obedience to His words.

So how much savings is enough? The general rule of thumb is six months living expenses, although I believe that is really the minimum. That means the more debt you have (mortgage, cars, credit cards, student loans, etc.) the more savings you need. The irony is those who are already in debt need to save more to maintain continuity in their lives but because of their debt payment obligations are less able to do so. Those with little debt and lots of discretionary income needn’t save as much but are better able to do so.

With these principles in mind you should be able to put pen to paper and figure out how much savings you need to ensure when the storm comes you can preserve continuity in your life. GS

The Best Apologetic

For the last couple weeks I and another attorney in my office have been working on a religious discrimination case. Our clients worked for a company run by members of a religion (many would say a cult) who required our clients submit to their religion’s training and teaching as a condition to advancement in the company.

I’ve been reading a lot about the religion, not so much what others say about it but what their religious texts say. In the midst of that study I discovered this religion has an opinion about Jesus. Its founder said Jesus was a pedophile and that Jesus’ death on the cross was not a basis for salvation.

If you’ve been following this blog for a while you know that in August the wife and I were on a Black Sea cruise that took us from Istanbul to Ephesus and ultimately to Athens. While in Ephesus we had a private tour guide, who was Muslim. We spent two days with her, and in the course of getting to know each other it came up quite naturally that we were Christians.

At one point, she mentioned that Muslims believe Jesus was a prophet. She then said, “Well we all worship the same God anyway. Don’t you believe that?” I then explained to her genuine surprise that Christians cannot believe that because Jesus claimed to be the Son of God and the only way to God and that to believe in Him meant to believe He was who He said He was.

As a Christian, you can spend a lot of time studying comparative religions in preparation for sharing the Gospel with non-Christians, but the best apologetic ultimately is Jesus. Most religions have some contention about who Jesus is. Some will say Jesus was a good teacher, others a prophet, some a liar, and apparently one contends He was a pedophile.

This is where Jesus kept the focus during His ministry. After asking Peter who the people were saying He was, Jesus asked Peter the ultimate question, “But who do you say that I am?” (Luke 9:20). It’s the question everyone will ultimately have to answer, and it’s a good question to ask now. GS

A Point On Prayer

I was watching the end of the LSU v. Florida football game Saturday evening as the camera focused in on a Florida fan with her eyes closed, apparently praying for a favorable ending to the game.

It reminded me of my college basketball days, when I would pray fervently that we would win games. I continued the practice into the beginning of my law career, praying before each trial that we would win. I don’t pray that way anymore.

It’s not because I don’t think God is interested in the outcome of college basketball games or trials. He undoubtedly is. I don’t pray that way anymore because I now understand about common ground.

C.S. Lewis explained it like this: If you are walking downhill in one direction, a person walking in the opposite direction must, by necessity, walk uphill. This seems simple enough, but I found myself praying like I didn’t understand it.

Football games, basketball games and trials all occur on common ground, in other words, on a common objective reality. The outcome of the LSU v. Florida football game probably affected more than a million people. For those watching at home who were watching for entertainment value, the effect was probably minor. For the coaches, and to a lesser degree the players, the effect could be major or career-altering. How could I possibly know how to pray for the outcome of the game to account for all the people it would affect?

Sure, I could pray completely self-interested, “Lord, I don’t care how the outcome of this game affects a million people, what I want is most important”? How spiritual is that?

The only person who could know how to pray in such a situation, who has the breadth of knowledge to take into account all the variables and persons involved, is God, and I ain’t He.

So I generally don’t pray for outcomes in such situations; I pray for outworkings. For example, going into a trial, instead of praying to win (an outcome) I pray the Lord would work in and through me to enable me to perform excellently (an outworking).

Two things happen. First, it takes the pressure off me because trying to control an outcome creates anxiety. Second, I can pray with more faith because I can be more confident the Lord wants me to do well than I can be about a particular outcome.

Give it a try. I think you will find it liberating. GS

Why Words Matter

CNN’s Anderson Cooper is worked up because in the trailer for Vince Vaughn’s new movie, The Dilemma, Vaughn’s character refers to a car as being “gay.”

Cooper said, “We gotta do something to make those words…unacceptable, cause those words are hurting kids.”

I guess Cooper is referring to homosexual kids who might take Vaughn’s character’s use of the word “gay” in a negative context and therefore as a moral judgment of their sexual conduct.

To the extent Cooper is condemning the bullying of homosexuals I agree with him 100%, and citizens of the kingdom of God should be the first to condemn such conduct. The problem is I think Cooper is saying more. I think he’s concerned the word “gay” may take on a negative connotation.

If you’ve seen the clip from the trailer you know Vaughn’s character is not referring to a person but a car. He uses the word “gay” negatively, implying the car is effeminate, not the kind of car the average guy wants.

The irony is the homosexual community has already taken the word “gay,” a perfectly good and positive word, and, by using it synonymously with the word “homosexual,” given it a negative connotation.

Think about it. Do you ever use the word “gay” in a positive context any more? Do you ever say, “I felt so gay today,” or “I was in a such a gay mood”? The only time you see “gay” used in a positive light is in old movies, before the word was hijacked by an interest group with a public relations problem.

My point is not to pick on homosexuals. It’s not just homosexuals who have indulged in this wordplay. Heterosexuals who call adultery an “affair” are replacing a negative word with a positive one and impliedly redefining the morality of their conduct.

Anyway, that’s the point I wanted to make, you know, the irony. . . oh, and also, that words matter. Be careful how you use them. GS

Worldviews In The Jury Room

Yesterday I was in a CLE (Continuing Legal Education) course. CLE is how lawyers keep their skills honed and keep up on this latest changes in the law. Today was a day long mock trial conducted by some of the best trial lawyers in the country, complete with a jury who deliberated at the end of the day in the adjacent room while I and 200 trial lawyers watched via live video.

While the jury ultimately reached the right verdict (juries usually do), how they got there was a bit surprising to me. From the beginning I saw the jury divide in their deliberations according to worldview.

The conservative jurors were obvious and their remarks quickly revealed their inherent trust of companies and distrust of plaintiffs and lawsuits. On the other side were the liberal jurors, who have an inherent distrust for corporations and tend to side with individuals in such disputes. They all heard the same evidence, but they interpreted it very differently, not because of the quality of the evidence but the prism of their worldview.

This shouldn’t have surprised me. I’ve been picking juries for twenty years and have always conducted voir dire based on this assumption. I guess what surprised me was how blatant and conspicuous it was.

Now, here’s where I’m going with all this. There was an objective truth about the evidence, but that truth was distorted by the opposing worldviews through which the jurors viewed it. The key in reaching a true verdict was as much about having the correct worldview as it was about reason. Truth was as much about how they saw as what they saw.

In this respect, what’s true of juries is true of life in general. That’s why I write so much about worldview. If Christians want to see things the way they really are, they don’t need a conservative worldview or a liberal worldview but a Kingdom worldview. That worldview comes first from being obedient to Jesus, which enables one to have the proper worldview, to know Truth. (John 8:32-22).

If you can do that, you are ready to serve on a jury and in life. GS