Fools and Folly

I woke up at 2:00 A.M. after having went to bed at 11:00 P.M. My thoughts awakened me as usual. Yesterday, I endeavored to correct a millennial: that free stuff is not a right. Spending money which is not there is foolishness. Folly is the belief that getting something for nothing is possible. That is the mindset of this generation. Union members wanted all they could get from GM. One union president told me that he didn't care if it bankrupted the corporation. It did.

Spending money which is non-existent is foolishness. When are people the most foolish? At Christmastime. Rather than Jesus being given gifts from the wise men, today foolish men (and women) give their financial institutions gifts in interest. Parents and loved ones with good intentions celebrate Christmas exactly opposite to the meaning of the holiday. It's His birthday but the season is now for us! It is, "My Christmas!" as some have said.

In October or earlier, I began hearing about Christmas. It is usually, this is what I want. Also heard, is what can I get for ______?  (Put a name here). I never hear, what can I do for Jesus? There are things you can do for Christ which is outside of your own pleasure!

I've tried to get across the message of Christmas to my family. The response I get is Scrooge!  I am no Scrooge! I enjoy the spirit of Christmas but the entrapment of mankind by materialism is not my religion. It's foolish to be entrapped by the things of the world. Do you hear me? "Fools despise wisdom and instruction." (Proverbs 1:7). I do not present my own views but what I believe is right.

As such, I decided this morning while I was in bed to write a book called A Guide to Prosperity. Chapter 2 is behind me now. My basic premise is that it is foolish to spend money one doesn't have, and to work hard to do so. Most average Americans are in the 25% tax bracket this year. To pay the average of $975 for Christmas presents actually costs $1218.75 in work. The average worker makes $67,000 or so - at least for those 51% who pay any taxes at all! Thus 18% of their income is spent for this one day. For those who pay taxes, they earn about $30 per hour based on a 240 day work year. That means they work 41 hours just to pay for Christmas, providing they don't borrow the money.

Charge cards rates average 15% per annum. Thus, the hours of work for borrowed Christmas presents approaches 50 hours. That is foolishness! Could not that money be better spent on Jesus? Rather than loved ones, God commanded that we give to older widows and orphans. The best Christmas present is to provide for the needs of the needy.

One year, I fasted and prayed. My gift went directly to God - the fast, and to the others - the prayers. I obeyed that year The Greatest Commandment and the one like unto it.  Those presents weren't for me but I was one of those who were blessed. I assume that those for whom I prayed were somehow blessed as well. My Christmas gift to them was love. That's what people who love give - themselves.

What I want for Christmas is what I try to give - love. Instead I lose my two front teeth, and guess what? I want them back this year. My only desire for Christmas is that those in my family who are at odds reconcile. I have asked that they do it for my gift but the important thing is that it is God's will. We gift God by doing His will.

Christmas has evolved. It is no longer Christ's Day but Fools Day. People merely do as the others do. They jump off the financial cliff just because they follow others. A good gift would be for people to be wise with their money, and be good stewards of what God has given them. Toys, jewelry, trinkets, and the like are meaningless. The best gift is love, and that is the most scarce gift I see.

Merry Fool's Day to each. Merry Fools Day to all.