For Christian Business Owners: A Business Is Not A Family

family businessI’m a trial lawyer specializing in employment law.

The other day, a client tells me about her former employer, “The owner says he’s a Christian . . . . What a hypocrite!”

You see the owner had told the employees he considered them family. My client’s “family” then terminated her. My client realized families don’t terminate its members when times get tough or if they don’t perform. So, my client concluded this Christian business owner was a hypocrite.

I wish I could say this was the only time I have heard this story from a client or potential client, but it has happened far more than you might expect. Continue reading “For Christian Business Owners: A Business Is Not A Family”

What The Bible Demands of Rich Christians

wealthyBefore you decide this post doesn’t apply to you consider what follows.

If your annual take-home pay is $30,000, you are in the top 1% in terms of income in the world.

In other words, you are rich.

If this news doesn’t thrill you, it’s probably because you live in one of the wealthier countries in the world, which doesn’t mean you are not rich; it only means you may not feel rich because you are surrounded by people who are richer.

If you live in the United States of America and you earn $200,000/year you are in the top 5% in terms of income in the country. Even by American standards, you are rich. Continue reading “What The Bible Demands of Rich Christians”

A Money Test

money testI have a great pastor.

He is in his early 30s but has a wisdom and maturity well beyond his years.

Today he began a series on money.

In fact, I’m at bat in two weeks and you will probably see my message in advance in the form of a blog post series here.

At the end of his sermon today, my pastor asked three questions. He said it was a test to determine whether our heart’s treasure was Jesus or money.

As a veteran of 7 years of higher education, I’m familiar with tests. In a twisted sort of way I kind of like them. They cut through all the subjectivity and provide a semblance of certainty about one’s knowledge or ability. Continue reading “A Money Test”

The Secret To Avoiding Debt

calculator-260x183As the so-called “fiscal-cliff” looms, Americans are scratching their heads wondering how we got into this situation.

I’ve offered an answer to that question in another blog post, On The Debt Crises. That post begs the question of how Americans can avoid debt.

I grew up in an upper middle-class family. There were families who had more and those who had less.

Since then I’ve had periods in my life when I didn’t have a lot of money and times when I have.

When I was in law school, I didn’t manage what little money I had very well and as a result brought a lot of credit card debt into our marriage. My wife and I decided to deal with it and our other debts early on.

Continue reading “The Secret To Avoiding Debt”

Musical Chairs

Perhaps you’ve been following the Greek debt crises.

Greece has been teetering on the edge of bankruptcy for the last three years. A few weeks ago the Greeks elected new politicians in a reaction against austerity measures they previously accepted as a part of a deal to borrow more money from the European Union.

The European Union was initially reluctant to offer a bailout, but now they are all in, and Greece, like a petulant child, has shown its appreciation by deciding after it took the money that it doesn’t want to take its medicine.

Greece’s profligacy is not the EU’s fault, but it is now their problem.

We face a similar problem in the USA. Greece’s public debt was 152% of their Gross Domestic Product in 2011. Their 2011 government expenses were approximately 120% of their revenues. American public debt was nearly 100% of Gross Domestic Product and expenses were 150% of revenues in 2011. Continue reading “Musical Chairs”