Apologetics Made Simple

Equipping the Next Generation of Believers

Did God Say We Should Sell All of Our Possessions?

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Introduction

On more than one occasion, I have had unbelievers (particularly those of a Hindu or Islamic persuasion) ask me why I haven’t sold all of my possessions. I’ve also received this question from believers before. In this article, I will address the question, “Did Yeshua say we should sell all of our possessions?”

The Origin of the Claim

Matthew 19:21 reads, “Yeshua said to him, “If you wish to be perfect, go, sell what you own, and give to the poor; and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me.” What is interesting about this passage is that the wealthy man claimed to have kept the commandments in verse 20. This prompted what Yeshua said in verse 21.

Addressing the Claim

What is interesting is that the man grieved when Yeshua told him to sell all he had and follow him. The first of the ten commandments is, “You shall have no other gods before Me. (Exodus 20:3).” And Yeshua said the most important commandment was, “And He said to him, “‘You shall love Adonai your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment (Matthew 22:37-38).” What Yeshua said was what it meant to keep the first commandment, “You shall have no other gods before me.” If the man grieved because Yeshua told him to sell all of his possessions, it is clear he was not keeping the most important commandment. Though the reason why Yeshua told him to do this is not stated, it can be easily inferred that despite the man saying that he kept the commandments, he was not keeping the most important one.

And why is an explanation necessary? Is it not obvious that Yeshua tells all of his followers to sell their possessions? The answer is a resounding, “No,” if the Bible is any indication. Indeed, Abram was wealthy, yet he found favor with Adonai and became Abraham, the Father of Nations (Genesis 13:2; Genesis 17). Did Adonai tell him to sell all of his possessions? No. That is right. God began his covenant for Israel by making his covenant with a rich man. This is quite the far cry from the notion that God wants all of his believers to sell their possessions. Based on this one example of many, those who interpret Matthew 19:21 as a requirement for all believers to sell everything must be in error. King David was also very wealthy but yet he was still referred to as ‘a man after God’s own heart,’ after becoming the earthly king of Israel (Acts 13:22; 1 Samuel 13:14). Since King David was considered a man after God’s heart even after he became wealthy, it is clear that selling all of your earthly possessions is not a requirement for salvation nor favor with God. 

Some will still object by saying that Yeshua said it is harder for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven than it is for a camel to go through the eye of a needle (Matthew 19:23-24). It is true that Yeshua said this; however, Yeshua also said,  “And looking, Yeshua said to them, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible. (Matthew 19:26).”

Conclusion

Based on God’s dealings with wealthy believers, it is easy to determine that those who say the Bible teaches that all believers must sell their possessions are in error. It should be noted, however, that there are instances where God calls people to sell all of their possessions. Those who are called to do so should do so immediately. It is likely because God is either trying to teach them something, their wealth has become a stumbling block to them, or both. God can use a poor, middle class, or rich person mightily in whatever way he chooses. We should take care to remember that God can use different types of people to further his divine plan.

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Wisdom vs. Information

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Introduction

There is a difference between being wise and being able to recall information. In this article, I will explain the difference.

Fountains of Wisdom

In this article, wisdom is the possession of a true proposition. Those who are wise know a lot of things that are true; they also know why those beliefs are true. These people have beliefs that are well grounded and are both true and defensible.  These people are consistent in their thinking and can reach the same conclusion on multiple occasions. This is because the underlying principles in their belief systems are sturdy and unchanging. It is like having a tour guide who has a map and can guide people to the same destination every time they are asked.

Fountains of Information

In this article, information is a proposition that can be possessed. People who are fountains of information have a lot of information, but they cannot discern which information is true or false. These people may be well educated because they went to school, they read a lot of books, or have viewed educational videos. They have a lot of ideas and data memorized, and they are familiar with different views on complicated issues. These people are intelligent, but they are still unable to discern what is true from what is false. They are intelligent people who are lost in the information they have learned. Some of the information they have might be true so perhaps they will still get some benefit from what they have learned, but they may not be able to reach the correct conclusions consistently. It is like a tour guide who doesn’t have a map. They may be able to get you to the right destination every once in a while, but they may not be able to do it every time.

Conclusion

As followers of Yeshua, we should strive to be fountains of wisdom so that we may guide people to the truth of the Bible. We should not look at those who are fountains of information as idiots. Clearly, if they are trying to learn new things, there is something they are looking for. It is our job to direct them to the truth so that they can too can become fountains of wisdom.

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Should You Invest in Bitcoin?

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bitcoin

Internet marketers have really been pushing bitcoin over the past several months. I have been asked so many times about this particular investment it makes my head spin. I have also been approached by several people that have pitched to me the merits of buying bitcoin. I will say up front that I do not fully understand bitcoin, but based on my conversations with investors of bitcoin, I’m not sure that anyone fully understands it. All I can say is that bitcoin is one of the strangest things I’ve ever heard of. If you keep reading, you will find out why.

What is bitcoin?

Bitcoin is presented to consumers as a “cryptocurrency.” A cryptocurrency is an asset that can be securely exchanged for goods. This currency is also supposedly infinitely divisible (that’s right, INFINITELY divisible). How is that possible? Don’t ask me; I’m not the one making the claim. You can buy a whole bitcoin or you can buy a fraction of a bitcoin. You have to get a bitcoin virtual “wallet” to keep your bitcoins in.

Many people will say that bitcoin is a currency; however, this is not correct. Currencies have values that are independent of other currencies and asset valuations. Bitcoin is not independent of the dollar. As Warren Buffet has pointed out, bitcoin fluctuates along with the dollar. Because of this, bitcoin is actually a speculative asset; it is not a currency. Just because you can exchange something for something else does not make it a currency in the strictest sense of the term. Many people object to the notion that bitcoin is not a currency by redefining the term. That’s all well and good, but redefining the term ‘currency’ does not address my argument in a way that is valid. The only way to make bitcoin a currency, at least the only way I can see it happening, is if everyone stops using the dollar and starts using bitcoin instead.

You can obtain bitcoin by either buying it or “mining” it. Before some of you go out to buy a pickaxe, let me tell you how this mining thing works. How would you like to solve ridiculously complex math problems all day? I’m talking math problems that some Ph.D Mathematicians may not be able to solve. Most of you probably don’t like the sound of that, but fear not, you can buy an uber expensive mining rig (a “super computer” as it were) that will be able to solve those problems for you. The issue is, they are very expensive and they go out of date very quickly. You would have to have multiple mining rigs in order to have the chance to make a profit. There is also a finite amount of bitcoins, but not all of them have been “found” yet.

 

What are the Pros of Bitcoin?

Bitcoin is not regulated. Since I hate the federal reserve with a passion of 1,000 burning suns, this is a big plus for me. There are also a lot of large companies that are starting to accept payments in the form of bitcoin. The fact that so many large companies are willing to take this currency shows that they believe either that the value of bitcoin will be stable or it will continue to increase. A lot of millionaires and billionaires also like the idea of bitcoin. Heck, I know some people who have made thousands of dollars off of bitcoin so far. Although bitcoin is volatile, its historical trend shows that it’s value has been increasing more than it has been decreasing. Some have projected that it may become worth $500,00 to $1,000,000. Keep in mind that those who have said that have nothing to back up their claims except wild speculation.

What are the Cons of Bitcoin?

Bitcoin is extremely volatile. Do you like the idea of being able to lose 40% of your investment in a matter of 24 hours? Probably not. At this time, it is harder to make significant money on bitcoin because it is significantly harder for an asset to appreciate 100 fold when it’s worth $16,000 than it is for an asset that is worth $1 to increase by 100 fold. If bitcoin were truly a currency, it might be easier for its value to increase in its infancy, but since its value is based on the dollar, the prospect of it multiplying even 20 fold is unlikely at this point.

You are also risking the possibility of fraud. Fortunately, there are ways to safeguard against it. I won’t go into a lot of detail. I will, however, say to watch out for fake exchanges that tricks you into thinking you are buying and selling bitcoin when you really aren’t. A lot of them will say things like, “Buy bitcoin 5% off.” Who would sell bitcoin for 5% less than what it’s worth if people already accept bitcoin? That is like selling US dollars for 5% off (sign me up)! This is surely a sign of a fake exchange. Your best bet is to make sure you are using a legitimate exchange and a legitimate bitcoin wallet when you are trading bitcoin.

Should You Buy Bitcoin?

Whether or not you choose to buy bitcoin is up to you. I personally do not have any bitcoin in my portfolio nor do I plan to have it in my portfolio. I have thought about mining bitcoin, but I still plan to abstain. The asset is too volatile for my taste. I prefer to invest in debt securities that pay me interest and in equities that pay me a share of corporate profits. My portfolio gives me a good rate of return and its volatility is approximately 1 or 2 tenths of the total stock market’s volatility.

Should you invest in bitcoin, I suggest keeping your speculative assets at 5% or less in your portfolio. Any higher will expose you to risk that you may not be able to afford. If I kept bitcoin as a part of my portfolio, I would keep it at 5%. I’d buy into its weakness and sell off the strength. In other words, if bitcoin became 6% of my portfolio, I’d sell off that extra 1% of bitcoin in my portfolio. If bitcoin took up 4% of my portfolio, I’d buy into the weakness so it would be back at 5%. I used to do this with precious metals such as gold and had success with this strategy up until the end where I made a stupid decision that cost me a couple of thousand dollars! I basically deviated from my strategy and bought too much into precious metals. When it dropped by more than half, I panicked and sold my holdings. Had I hung in there, I would have made a couple of thousand in profit. Ugh. I still kick myself over that. If you don’t panic when it drops or deviate from the strategy I gave you, you might be able to avoid the mistake I made; of course, you also risk losing more money. Ultimately, it is your call.

Remember how I said that mining was basically a colossal pain in the posterior? Well, there is an easier way to do it. A company called USI-Tech has a coin case that you can buy for around 50 euros (I don’t feel like doing the math to find out the dollar amount). You can go and buy bitcoin and put the bitcoin in that case. The company will mine bitcoin and share some of the spoils with you. Their aim is to get you 140% of your original investment in 140 days. That’s a 40% rate of return. Of course, they can’t guarantee that rate, but I do have some friends that are happy with it so far. One of my friends is with this company so I’ll just give you his affiliate link. If you decide to mine bitcoin, keep in mind that there are only a finite amount of bitcoins that can be mined, and we have no idea concerning how many there are.

Conclusion

The way I see it, a company’s valuation still stands regardless of which currency it is measured by. Currency investments and speculative investments are always very risky. I’d prefer to focus on increasing cash flow while also seeking capital appreciation in my portfolio.

I have investor friends that are in bitcoin. I wish them success, but I’m not personally willing to take the risk. Remember, if you decide to invest in any cryptocurrency be very careful. Also remember that Ecclesiastes 11:2 tells us to keep our investments diversified.

Five Reasons to Get Out of Debt

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There are many reasons to get out of debt. In this article, I will give five reasons why you should get out of debt.

Debt is a Wealth Killer

On average, investment portfolios return 6-12% depending on asset allocation. Many people have loans or credit cards that have interest rates north of 7% (some credit cards have interest rates of around 30%). Would you invest in any asset that loses 7-30% a year? If not, why should you borrow money for an extra 7 to 30 cents per dollar? This may not sound like much, but if we are talking about a $30,000 loan at a 10% annual interest rate, that is $3,000 a year in interest. If you are paying that off over a 3 year period, that is $9,000 dollars that could have gone to investing. $9,000 in a  portfolio that yields 4% in annual dividends and bond distributions would amount to $360.00 of passive income a year. In 10 years that would amount to an extra $3,600.00 in your pocket. Would you rather make money or lose it? The answer is obvious.

Paying Off Debt Frees Up Cash for Fun Stuff

Do you wish you could have more money to spend on yourself? I agree with Ramit Sethi when he says that we should allocate 20%-35% of our budget for guilt-free spending money. Unfortunately, many people cannot do this because they are so far in debt that they have no excessive income. You could put more money in savings or invest more, but most of us would like to live life a little bit on the way. After all, tomorrow is not guaranteed. If you have a loan where you have to pay $150.00 a month, that is $150.00 that you can’t invest or spend on yourself. Why give the money to someone else when you can make that $150.00 work for you?

Debt is Stressful

Do you like being stressed? Unless you are glutton for punishment, the answer is probably no. According to HomeServe USA, about half of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck. The New York Federal Reserve has said that much of this is due to debt. Who wants to live a life where the next unanticipated emergency would be a financial catastrophe? I cannot think of many situations that could be more stressful.

Having No Debt Gives You More Options

Do you like your job? While I advocate viewing your job as an asset that helps you to get to where you want to be, some jobs are very unpleasant. In fact, if your job makes you depressed, you could have better luck with getting another job if you have no debt. After all, if you have no debt, your income requirements are lower. This could give you the freedom to do something else that you like better even though it is not as lucrative. Making money is important, but our mental well being is more important.

If you lose your job, your emergency fund will last longer if you do not have to pay down debt. You might even be able to get by if you donate plasma and drive for Uber if you suddenly find yourself without a job. Your alternative options to being employed become broader when you don’t have to worry about keeping up with your credit card and loan payments.

Would you like to be able to pay cash for a car? Having no debt makes it easier to save up a large amount to buy a car. I’ve never had a car payment in my life, and I can tell you that I enjoy my vehicles more because of it. A shiny Mercedes Benz is not as fun when you are dragging around a $500.00 a month car payment. The first step of financial independence is to pay off debt as quickly as possible.

You Have a Moral Responsibility to Be Wise with What God has Given you 

God requires us to manage our money wisely (1 Timothy 5:8, Proverbs 21:20, Proverbs 13:22, etc). We are to be able to manage our money so that we can provide with our family. We also should also invest in our children’s future. We should also be prepared to give to others. It is harder to do all of these things if we are in debt. Since it has been commanded of us, we must be good stewards of what God has given us.