78th Edition
About twenty-six miles north of Albany lies the historic town of Saratoga. I visited there recently with friends who had never been there. This gave me the opportunity to play the local historian and share a few things I knew about this historic place.
Back when American history was taught in schools my generation learned all about the Battle of Saratoga, one of the pivotal battles that turned the tide in the Revolutionary War in 1777.
During the Gilded Age and into the early 20th Century, Saratoga was a popular vacation destination for the rich and famous. Prominent families, including the Vanderbilts, Whitneys, Goulds and Astors, along with politicians and leading sports figures, spent time in Saratoga enjoying horse racing and its luxurious health spas.
Today, Saratoga is a popular destination for those looking to bet on the ponies, as they say. Americans love to gamble, and not surprisingly it’s perfectly legal today to bet on, well, just about anything. Is this a good thing?
Entertainment is central to our current culture. We live for virtual thrills, instant exhilaration through online games, videos, and the like. We thrive on impulsive materialism. Online gambling has exploded in recent years and shows no signs of deceleration. A quick search turned up over fifty online betting sites. How wonderful… Americans spend approximately $50 billion annually on gambling. That’s a tenfold increase over the past ten years. I can’t help but think that there are better uses for this money.
On the other hand, what’s wrong with the obvious thrills that gambling produces. There are certainly worse ways of thrill seeking, like driving wildly on the interstate under the influence of alcohol or messing with mind-altering drugs.
In the United States, arguably the most advanced society in the history of the world, we spend enormous amounts of money that seems so wasteful, yet necessary to sustain our way of life. Think of all that we spend to remain safe and secure, to prevent bad things from happening. How much we spend to enable and influence bureaucracy to work in our favor. How much we spend every day on things we really don’t need but can’t do without because other people have them.
Wealth, in proper perspective can lead to happiness. But too much of a focus on it can increase our stress level. As we struggle to find the right balance we sometimes overlook or even disregard the responsibility associated with it.
It seems appropriate to state that I am adamantly opposed to any form of top-down, government forced, redistribution of wealth. But I am in favor of personal generosity, civic responsibility, and a sense of selflessness when it comes to how wealth is spent and reinvested. While it is possible that the government could play an important role in encouraging civic responsibility, their track record in doing so is not very good.
Corruption, an unquenchable thirst for power, and bureaucratic inefficiency tend to thwart even the most well-meaning, civic-minded initiatives. As a result, wealth tends to stay concentrated, which angers some people to no end. But it also serves to inspire others. Why are some angered by other people’s wealth while others are inspired? Is it fair to say the first group learns the concepts of victimhood, inequality, entitlement, and dependency, while the latter learns individual responsibility, creativity, resourcefulness, and perseverance?
So, what are the responsibilities that comes with wealth? Tithing for one. Being appropriately generous is another. What does that mean? It means looking for ways to build the kingdom through philanthropy. Supporting local and global missions that actually improve the lives of the less fortunate in a sustainable way over the long term. Americans lead the world in these efforts and we should feel good about that. Of course, we can always do better. Like reallocating a portion of our money spent on gambling to charities. Just an idea.
Our country has a long and growing list of generous philanthropists, from Rockefeller and Ford to Warren Buffet and Bill Gates in more recent years. Surely, these accomplished leaders have inspired others with how they shared their wealth toward the end of their life. At any level, how we choose to spend whatever God has allowed us to earn, impacts others, especially within our families and communities. To whom much has been given, much is expected. We can’t, in good conscience, ignore that call. Even if it is more thrilling to do otherwise.
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Michael Kayes
*These views are my personal opinions and are not the viewpoints of any company or organization.