Couple More Snowball Thoughts

Just finished "reading" The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life this morning (I actually listened to it on CD.) I liked the book a lot as it gives great insight into Warren Buffett the man (not just the investor.) I've commented on the book a couple times previously (see Anyone for Snowballs? and Snowball Thoughts) and thought I'd add these last few comments to round out my thinking on it:

• Buffett was obsessed with money for most of his life. In fact, the book made it seem like he put money above people in most cases.

• He certainly put money above his family quite often. As you can imagine, this led to strained (at best) personal relationships and his family being a mess for much of his life. As I listened to the book, I could see Buffett "losing" his family because he didn't have time for them -- he had to make more money (in his mind.) It reminded me of this verse in the Bible:

What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Matthew 16:26

• I thought it was going to end on a sad note. But in his latter years, Buffett grew more to appreciate his family and see how they were more important than making more money. Thankfully, they were all restored to each other (other than his first wife who never really came back to him the way he wanted) and it all seems to have worked out.

I found the book to be quite fascinating and I recommend it for anyone who's interested in Buffett or anyone who just wants to read a good biography.

Comments

[ekrabs]

Hmm, and an important lesson for us all. That we all need to comprehend the importance of money. More specifically, as important as it is, there are things in life that are even more so, and that we should never misplace their priorities.

[Rick]

Wait! A Bible verse? It's not even Sunday! Just goes to show how integrated religion is with living life, and how applicable and valuable Jesus' teachings are to everyone.

[Anom]

Rick --

Agreed, a lot of people who post here could stand to read the bible.

"If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? (NIV, 1 John 3:17)"

[Anom]

"It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." (Mark 10:25 NIV)

Why is that? Jesus, who knew the human heart better than anyone ever has or ever will, understood that it's a matter of priorities. Too often, rich people make wealth their number one priority instead of God. They spend most of their time making wealth, spending it, and increasing it. In a very real sense, money becomes their -idol-.

[FMF]

Anom --

Are you now a Bible teacher? If you are, that's cool with me. But you need to remember that context is key in Bible interpretation. Anyone can pull a random verse from the Bible and make it say almost anything.

In your example, it's worthwhile to read Mark 10:26-27 which reads:

The disciples were even more amazed, and said to each other, "Who then can be saved?" Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God."

So while the issue centered around money, the key point was the power of God for salvation. But that discussion is for a different blog.

I don't disagree that there are many warnings in the Bible about greed, the love of money, etc., but the "camel" verses, while among the most well-known, aren't really the best to illustrate this point IMO.

[Anom]

I mean, the verses about wealth are a dime a dozen.

Should we go on to Deuteronomy? Romans? Leviticus? Luke? Proverbs? Ecclesiastes? Malachi? Timothy?

Old and New.

[FMF]

Anom --

Yes, the Bible has many verses about how to handle money. I write about those on Sundays and have been doing so for a couple years. Still lots of material left.

My only point above was that you need to look at the context of a verse before interpreting it -- something that needs to be done no matter where the verse is found in the Bible.