The Blessing and Baffling of Buffett
Here is my AI friend’s idea of a Black philanthropist. It didn’t have to be male, or this old; and needn’t be in a suit. But otherwise, not bad.
What I love most is the joyous expression. Many people don’t know the kind of JOY it is to give; that it is way higher and much deeper than the kind of joy one gets when they receive.
And maybe it’s because somehow our subconscious knows “It is more blessed to give them to receive.” And those aren’t just nice motivational words from a Ziglar, Rohn or Les Brown; remember they are the words of the Lord Jesus himself (Acts 20:35).
Today, many people are grabbing the ephemeral things of this world like there’s no tomorrow or eternity. The reality is that you can’t go into eternity with your stuff; but you can send them ahead by your giving today.
Having said that, another mistake is to think our generosity guarantees us a good place on the other side of the river—when we die. Even the amazing investment guru Warren Buffett got it wrong. When asked why he was being so generous in pledging to donate the vast majority of his fortune to charity in 2006 (and asking several billionaires like Bill Gates to do same), humorously but mistakingly he said, “There is more than one way to get to heaven, but this is a great way.”
Jesus and Buffett agree that #generosity is great but not to the same ends. No human being goes to heaven because of their generosity; we only get to because of GOD’s generosity: “This is how much God loved the world: He #gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life” (Eugene Peterson’s version of John 3:16).
Now, Jesus and Buffett are at loggerheads when it comes to how many ways there are to heaven: “Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me”” (John 14:6).
Either Jesus is right or Buffett is. The latter just turned 95 (August 30) and will be dying any moment from now (naturally, the way of all mankind, I mean); he’s about to find out the truth. The former already died, at 33, but miraculously rose again, and lives forever. In heaven. You choose who to believe.
For now, take it from both: generosity or philanthropy is great. Believe it or not, paradoxically it benefits the giver more than the receiver!
