Take the Red Pill (Easter Edition)...

Yes, strange title for a post…

In light of the holiday just past and of all the things I write about, none is going to ever be as important as what follows in this post. Amongst all the blogging done, I would be doing a disservice to you if I did not share the following and highlight something of dire importance that can shape the rest of your life and outlook. For a moment, we’re going to take a step back from financial matters and try to understand a primary truth – one that is a base for which we stand in life. If we miss out and misunderstand this truth, we will never ultimately find fulfillment in our lives.

Now, for those of you movie buffs, you’ve undoubtedly seen The Matrix and recognize the title reference for the “red pill”. If you’ve seen the movie, you’ll recall the following scene when Neo first meets Morpheus. For those of you that haven’t seen it, you can watch the clip here.  To set up the clip, know that the setting you see is actually taking place in “the Matrix” – a computer generated world to which our hero, Neo, is actually unknowingly connected. Morpheus, the wise sage and leader, is actually “free” and lives in reality – he is only temporarily connected to the Matrix in order to visit Neo and to try and bring him out (I know, I know…confusing. You’ll have to see the movie if you haven’t…really good flick).

Morpheus: I imagine that right now you're feeling a bit like Alice. Tumbling down the rabbit hole?
Neo: You could say that.
Morpheus: I can see it in your eyes. You have the look of a man who accepts what he sees because he's expecting to wake up. Ironically, this is not far from the truth. Do you believe in fate, Neo?
Neo: No.
Morpheus: Why not?
Neo: 'Cause I don't like the idea that I'm not in control of my life.
Morpheus: I know exactly what you mean. Let me tell you why you're here. You're here because you know something. What you know, you can't explain. But you feel it. You felt it your entire life. That there's something wrong with the world. You don't know what it is, but it's there…Like a splinter in your mind -- driving you mad. It is this feeling that has brought you to me. Do you know what I'm talking about?
Neo: The Matrix?
Morpheus: Do you want to know what it is?
(Neo nods his head yes.)
Morpheus: The Matrix is everywhere, it is all around us. Even now, in this very room. You can see it when you look out your window, or when you turn on your television. You can feel it when you go to work, or when go to church or when you pay your taxes. It is the world that has been pulled over your eyes to blind you from the truth.
Neo: What truth?
Morpheus: That you are a slave, Neo. Like everyone else, you were born into bondage, born inside a prison that you cannot smell, taste, or touch. A prison for your mind. (long pause, sighs) Unfortunately, no one can be told what the Matrix is. You have to see it for yourself. This is your last chance. After this, there is no turning back.
(In his left hand, Morpheus shows a blue pill.)
Morpheus: You take the blue pill and the story ends. You wake in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. (a red pill is shown in his other hand) You take the red pill and you stay in Wonderland and I show you how deep the rabbit-hole goes. (Long pause; Neo begins to reach for the red pill) Remember -- all I am offering is the truth, nothing more.
(Neo takes the red pill and swallows it with a glass of water)

“It is this feeling that has brought you to me…do you know what I’m talking about?”

The “American Dream.”

Yes, the American Dream. This notion of attainable happiness – the world that has been pulled over your eyes to blind you from the truth. The truth that you are a slave. A slave to ambition and “trying to work your way up the ladder.” A slave to the consumer mindset. A slave to image comparison with neighbors, friends, relatives, and strangers – to keeping up with the Joneses. A slave to the fleeting notion that if “you just had a little more” stuff, money, a bigger house, another vacation, etc. that you’d be happy and that all of your problems would be solved.

It is this notion that is bothering me…it is the “splinter in my mind”.

Let me share with you my heart for a moment:

I don’t know if anyone has told this to you or not, so it’s worth saying: It doesn’t matter how much stuff you have or attain. It doesn’t matter how much money you make or don’t make. It doesn’t matter what vacations you go on, what car you drive, or what house you live in. None of it, repeat, none of it will give you lasting happiness.

Bending our lives over so we can attain the American dream results in giving up our soul for the worship of an idol. That idol is ourselves. The American dream is about us, dear reader, and our attainment of happiness.

The thing we don’t realize – the unfortunate irony – is that we as humans are a black hole and no amount of consumption of stuff will satisfy us. We also don’t realize and understand that money and wealth and “stuff” is a tool only, but we treat it as if it can produce life sustaining and life fulfilling happiness. We’ve all been duped.

The truth is that life isn’t devoid of an alternate reality. Like in The Matrix, we see the physical – but that’s not all there is. The spiritual exists also. In this painful twist of ironies, it is actually the spiritual which will ultimately provide us with life fulfilling happiness. No wonder we are a confused, unhappy, and lost civilization…we’ve lost touch with this unseen reality and have instead tried to rely only on ourselves.

Many of you may know of, or at least heard of, author C.S. Lewis. Most notably, you’d recognize him because he wrote the Chronicles of Narnia series, made popular most recently by the Disney movies. Among his other numerous writings, is a theological book called Mere Christianity (which I’d highly recommend if you haven’t read it) which is a collection of transcripts of broadcasts Lewis did in the 1940s laying out the case for the Christian point of view. The reason I bring it up is that Lewis was at one point an atheist who later came to faith in Christ. His observations and perspective are incredibly relevant to our “alternate reality” conundrum. Lewis puts it like this,

“If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.”

Interesting, no? Sounds like he was a “consumer” who had a light bulb moment…

How about one of the wisest (and wealthiest) figures in human history to further hammer home the point? King Solomon. After ranting about building cities and palaces, attaining wisdom, being richer than all others, indulging in all pleasures, Solomon states:

“Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun.” - Ecclesiastes 2:11

Think these guys are on to something here?

Stuff isn’t going to satisfy. Attaining the “American Dream” isn’t going to satisfy. The real truth is summed up best by Lewis again in Mere Christianity:

“Until you have given up yourself to Him (Christ the Lord) you will not have a real self…”

Relaying the words of the Lord and speaking on His behalf, the Old Testament prophet Jeremiah says this:

“My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me (God), the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.” -Jeremiah 2:13

Isn’t it about time that we stop “digging our own cisterns”; trying to satisfy ourselves by our own devices through incessant consumption? Isn’t it about time that we got serious about finding our satisfaction, not in stuff, but in the eternal – in the Lord Jesus?

Here’s the challenge laid out:

“No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.” ~ Jesus (Matthew 6:24)

“Money” in this sense can easily be identified with “ourselves”, as money is what we try to use to placate ourselves and fill our black hole of a soul. We cannot serve both God and ourselves.

So here it is…your matrix moment…

“This is your last chance.”

You take the blue pill, the story ends and you continue to believe whatever you want to believe and go back into a self-induced consumer coma.

Or, you take the red pill and pursue a new reality and see how deep the rabbit hole goes - losing your old self and finding a new identity shaped by Christ Jesus.

All I’m offering is the truth…the choice is yours.

"For everyone has messed up (sinned); we all fall short of God's glorious standard."  Romans 3:23

"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."  Romans 5:8

"...if you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved."  Romans 10:9

Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.  John 14:6

"Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God--children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God."  John 1:12-13

"Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him."  John 7:39

If you'd like to dialogue more about this man, Jesus Christ, or want to know more about his life, death, and resurrection, or about putting your faith in him, please email me...I'd love to continue the conversation.  Click here: Send Me an Email

Ode To An MBA...

Many of you probably have noticed the lack of posts over the past few months. The wave of the last class and last semester of grad school finally overwhelmed life and swept over me…so naturally some things had to give. The good news is that I’m done! I also have a backlog of thoughts and things I want to share with you in addition comments on current events and developments (and oh my goodness, is there a lot going on!)…

To start with, in honor of the past year-and-a-half of the pursuit of higher education, I thought I’d take a post and lay out some stunning things you may or may not know about the quest for higher education.

To begin with, viewing the graph below, you’ll notice household debt broken down into categories. What’s interesting to see is that student loans (in red) are just about equal to other “minor” consumer spending debts (credit card, auto loan, etc.). Aside from owning a house, education debt is one of the next largest debts households face. What you don’t see in this chart are the previous charts before this one. Student loan debt has slowly been creeping up. This is kind of the “official chart” (haven’t found a more updated version than the below), but according to recent information I’ve read, student loan debt has already eclipsed credit card debt in January of this year (student debt: $851B, credit card debt: $828B). Regardless of its size in the household debt category, student loan debt is much worse than having credit card debt or a mortgage.


Before we go any further, we’ll pause and have some history regarding the pursuit of a college education…

Lyndon Johnson (LBJ) in 1965 signed the Higher Education Act (HEA) as part of his “Great Society” undertaking. Students could go to college with federal guaranteed loans and scholarships.

However, in 1978 an interesting trend was uncovered. Many doctors and lawyers began discharging their student loan debt by filing for bankruptcy immediately after graduation…thus legislation was enacted (Bankruptcy Reform Act) to disallow a discharge of such debt for 5 years after the first payment on a loan was made. In 1990, the period was extended to 7 years. In 1998, congress completely eliminated the ability to discharge student loan debt in bankruptcy.

Yes, you read that right – loans for education are the ONLY type of loan that has a federally backed “no-escape” clause. Keep in mind, this was on federal guaranteed loans and scholarships. It didn’t take long; however, until in 2005 the bankruptcy code extended the same “no escape” stipulations to private student loan lenders. ALL student loans are impossible to discharge now.

In addition, and more disgusting is that many protections were removed from student loans. Miss a payment and you could have your wages garnished without a court order, have your state professional license suspended, have social security or disability income garnished, even have any tax refunds owed withheld (no! not my refund!).

“Why on earth were protections removed?” you may ask?

Here’s my best attempt at a short answer – each bullet cascading and building on the next point:

• Sallie Mae is the largest originator of student loans – federal guaranteed loans, mind you.
  
• If you default on your loan originated by Sallie Mae, the government pays Sallie Mae the balance plus interest (they guaranteed the loan, remember).
  
• Thus, the government is now out on the deal. They WANT to get their money back and have made it so that they WILL. The collections agency can get it in whatever way they can, thanks to the changes in legislation and removal of protection.
  
• The collection agencies add 25% to the loan as a collection fee and get a 28% commission on the loan (out of your pocket, of course).
  
• Oh, by the way, Sallie Mae owns the collections agencies they send after you. How convenient.

To further the problem, the Obama administration enacted changes to the student loan program within the past few years (Education Reconciliation Act). And wonderful changes they were (insert tongue in cheek) – they cut lenders out of the loop, effectively allowing all loan profits (that used to go to the lenders) to go to the government. So, the government now makes more money than before by cutting out the middleman. Of course, there still isn’t any consumer protection for the graduate who defaults and that graduate is in debt to the government until they take every last penny to pay off the loan, plus fees, plus commissions, etc.

So really, “how bad is the student loan situation?” you may ask?

• 25% of government student loans default (on average)
  
• Those in school at community colleges have a 30% default rate
  
• Those in 2-year colleges have a 40% default rate

For perspective, consider that at the height of the subprime mortgage crisis in 2008/2009, default rates on mortgages were 25%. In contrast to student loans, these were mortgage loans that people could walk away from in bankruptcy. But, no one defaulting on a student loan gets such a luxury.

Let’s think about an even bigger implication here. Since defaulted school loans are a net gain to the government and its collection agencies, where is the incentive to keep the cost of tuition at a reasonable level? Answer: there is none! Higher prices for education = bigger loans. Bigger loans = more defaults. Bigger defaults = more profit. Think the government wants to step in a put a collar on the rising costs of education – thus slowing and capping a stream of revenue?

Another nugget of information: The cost of going to college in the U.S. has risen ten-fold during the last 30 years (compared to a six-fold increase for health-care and three-fold for inflation) – see below chart.

Here’s some more numbers:

• For 2010-2011, an in-state undergraduate degree at a four-year university (including room and board) averaged $16,140 (up 6.1% from last year).
  
• To go out-of-state, expect to see an average of $28,130 (up 5.6% - including r&b).
  
• To go to a private four-year school was $36,993 (including r&B – up 4.3%).
  
• 2/3 of college graduates (bachelor’s degree) graduate with school debt.
  
• The average college student graduating has $23,000 of debt.

Wow.

Oh, but wait... A report based on the book Academically Adrift: Limited Learning on College Campuses found that after two years, 45% of students learned little to nothing. After four years? 36% learned almost nothing.

Double wow!

“How can that be?” you ask? “How can over 1/3 of students learn next to nothing?” How about a multiple choice test and you choose the answer:

1. Professors spend too much time on research in order to be published, gain recognition, and get grants for the university and their departments – neglecting students and/or delegating teaching to graduate assistants.
   
2. The use of lectures, reading PowerPoints as a means of lecture, and giving multiple choice tests promote passive learning and promote one of the lowest levels of learning – see cognitive domain
   
3. Students are spending more time experimenting with biochemistry – practicing turning alcohol into urine.
   
4. All of the above

So, we’re paying all this money and not getting any results or learning much. Yet, employers and the world at large seem to view getting a degree as a good thing – and those with degrees, who learned mostly nothing over four years, earn higher wages than those without them.

How can things get more backwards?

Stuff like this makes me stop and wonder about my own children and the future of their higher education. With education rising ten-fold, will my kids be able to attend college with that kind of price tag? With the money we are trying to save for them, will it be enough to allow them to attend a college of their choice and not have to take out student loans? Even if they go, will they learn anything?

Even deeper though, I find myself stopping and asking: “at what point did attending college become the norm? It seems as though high schoolers about to graduate believe they are entitled to a college education. Isn’t getting an education a privilege and not an entitlement?” Perhaps students would learn more if they actually valued the opportunity instead of took it for granted. Perhaps my own children need to “have skin in the game” and should consider the following should they want to attend college:

• Postpone going to college, work, and save up money to pay for it.
  
• Bust their tail academically and earn scholarships.
  
• Work part-time or full-time while attending school.
  
• Go to a two-year school or community college to cover core classes and transfer in to a four-year school to specialize in a degree.
  
• Utilize online education.
  
• Don’t go to college and instead, specialize in a trade.

I know, I know. I may just be overdramatic on this. But I want my kids to value an education and actually learn something if a boat load of money is going to be spent on said education. In today’s world, that seems to actually not be the norm. If that’s the new “normal”, I definitely want my kids to be counter-cultural.