Hate Your Family?

Luke 14:26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, even his own life, he can not be my disciple.” I arrived in Seoul one week ago to visit my parents. It’s been so great to spend some quality time with them, to pray for them every day, and to share all that’s going on in my life. While an unfortunate circumstance of cancer catalyzed the trip, I must say I’m very thankful to God. What the enemy intends for evil, God always uses for good. On the flip side, I really miss my family at home. I miss hugging my wife. I miss horsing around with my boys. I think these five weeks will be the longest time I’ve been away from them. But again I know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, and I feel that this time away will make us all draw closer when I make it back. So in the midst of this trip, I just feel a lot of love for my family. And in Luke 14 Jesus tells us that anyone who does not hate his/her family can not be a disciple. What does He mean? If God is love, why does scripture say he hated Esau in Malachi 1:3? If God gives us the fifth commandment to honor our parents, why does Jesus ask us to hate them? I’ve read that hate in a biblical context has more to do with preference than with an outright attitude. Just like money (which I shared about yesterday), God has no problem with us enjoying deep relationships with our parents and our children. But the distance between our loved ones and our enemies must pale in comparison to the distance between God and everyone else. But just like with money, the more I get that right, the more God seems to bless my relationships. Thank you Lord for my family whom I love so much. I honor them as you command me to. Yet I declare that you are everything, even compared to them. Please give me opportunities to live this out today. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Mo' Money

Luke 16:13 “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You can not serve both God and money.” 1 Timothy 6:10 “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.” Last night we hosted our second Sunday Haus service on Clubhouse and I had a chance to share about God’s perspective on money and the spectrum of views in the church. On the one hand, we see tele-evangelists exhorting “dial 1-800 BLESSME, give me your credit card details and God will show you favor!” On the other hand, we see many Christians misquoting scripture “money is the root of all evil” when in fact the verse is “the LOVE of money is A root of ALL KINDS of evil.” Money is not evil, just like food, sex, and relationships are not evil. God wants to bless us with the fullness of experience that his creation can provide. But the problems appear when we put any of these good things near the position of the greatest thing in our lives. I believe that many Christians have hangups about making money, when God wants to bless us more than we want to be blessed ourselves. I also believe too many of us go to God like a vending machine, assuming that if we deposit in some transactional way, we deserve some yield on that sacrifice. What do you believe about money? Do you have some deep-seated, perhaps unconscious views that are holding you back from experiencing the fullness of God’s presence… and his favor? Lord, I thank you for being a loving father and for showering me with your love. You bless me though I’m so undeserving. That’s what loving fathers do. I declare that I need you and you alone. In Jesus’ most precious name, Amen.

Advice from Goldman Sachs

Luke 12:33 “Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Last night I jumped into a Clubhouse room and the last question came from a college student asking for one piece of advice from each of the speakers. I somewhat muddled through an answer, but later upon reflection I remembered the first word of wisdom I received from my mentor at Goldman Sachs. He took me to lunch, sat me down and said “John, you have to remember that this is not a short term game. You’re going to have friends and peers who at any point in time are going to be moving up the ranks faster than you, making more money than you, and are looking happier than you. But if you optimize for the short term, you’re going to lose at the game and you’re also going to be miserable. You must have a long term perspective.” It’s been really hard to heed his advice, but I’ve done my best and looking back I can absolutely say that his wisdom has proven out. Now that I’m in venture capital, where you don’t even know if you’re any good at this until ten years into it, the time horizons are even longer than when I was a trader. But I guess as a child of God, I know that my time horizon is actually not measured in years or decades, but in eternity. When I truly align my heart with God’s and take an eternal perspective, I’m fine not to get credit for something I accomplished, or to get blamed for something I didn’t do, or to see others achieving more than me in the short term. I know that my father in heaven has the best in store for me and that it’s all going to work out in eternity. Somehow when I get my heart into that place, God also sorts out the circumstances in the short term too. Lord, help me to have an eternal perspective today. I love you so much. In Jesus’ name, Amen.