January 6/7, 2007

Answering God's Call in a Hyper-Consumer World

By Nathan Dungan, President and Founder, Share Save Spend®

Last fall, I was in Indianapolis speaking at two donor events for the Central Indiana Community Foundation. In between the two events I had some down time that I used to catch up on voicemail. One of the messages was from Susan Berfield, an associate editor at Business Week magazine.

Ms. Berfield wanted to talk because she was doing a story on young adults and their respective financial habits - that is, were they making positive steps forward. Now, when most reporters call to interview me for a story it is often a fairly brief conversation because they are usually on a very tight deadline; Hence the term - sound bite.

But this conversation was different because Ms. Berfield was deeply curious about the financial choices and habits of young adults in their thirties. Suffice it to say she asked some excellent questions. But the one that stood out was her question on the role of the culture. More specifically she asked, "In your opinion, what role does the culture play in shaping the financial habits and values of this demographic group?"

So, what would you have said if you were asked that same question? Whether you're a student, a teacher, a parent, a grandparent or an adult mentor, I believe this question deserves some air time - because the current financial trends suggest there are rough seas ahead for millions of young people in America and it has very little to do with their I.Q. or how much money they make in a given year.

Let me circle back to the conversation I had with Ms. Berfield to shed some light on why I am so concerned about these trends and why I believe it impacts everyone in this room.

This year in America, young people 18 and under will spend and influence the spending of more than $1 trillion dollars. To put that in to context, the annual economic output in the U.S. a.k.a. the GDP, is $11.7 trillion.
By the time a college student reaches their senior year, they will have on average 4 credit cards and approx. $3,000 of credit card debt.
In 2005, the after-tax U.S. savings rate went negative for the first time since 1933. That means we (adults in the US) are spending more than we are earning.
And according to data just released this month from the Bureau of Labor, the after-tax personal savings rate of young adults 35 and under is now a shocking negative 16%.

When Ms. Berfield's Business Week article Thirty and Broke came out late last year, I noticed she included an additional bit of information:

The avg. credit card debt for young adults ages 25-34 is $5,200

This dramatic increase in debt that is now "normal" for so many young adults doesn't just magically appear when they turn 18, 20 or 25. No, this debt starts much earlier in life. It starts at age 5, or 8 or 10 in the form of spending habits - spending habits that metastasize into credit card debt in their 20's and 30's.

No matter how you slice it, a person's ability to be generous is in direct proportion to their financial capacity. If we are so distracted by hyper-consumption how will we be able to respond to the needs of the world.

In a recent national study by Ameriprise Financial, Baby Boomers, adults ages 42 to 60, were asked to identify their top retirement planning needs. The number one answer? -- Advice to help their children become more financially savvy. It wasn't sorting through health care options; it wasn't making sense of social security and employer pensions; it wasn't dealing with legacy and inheritance matters, no, the top answer was advice to help their children become more financially savvy. So, are you a little curious as to why it was the number one answer? The study offered the following insight: "Many Boomers, who grew up during a time of relative economic prosperity, have not led their lives with the frugality and financial prudence that characterized their parent's generation."

We are paying a big price for this stealth addiction. You can see it every day in our communities as it wreaks havoc on families, as it blinds us from seeing the needs in our communities and the greater world, as it pulls us away from sharing time and money with those who are the least fortunate among us.

No parent has ever told me it is their goal to raise a selfish, narcissistic child, but it happens...it happens because the messages of hyper-consumption are relentless. Whether you are rich or poor, hyper-consumption will come calling. And unless we have a process and a system to counter the onslaught of consumer messages the future does not look pretty.

Best selling author Dr. David Walsh, one of the nation's pre-eminent child psychologists and president of the National Institute on Media and the Family says, "The people who tell the stories define the culture." When it comes to shaping financial habits and values in the 21st century, who do YOU think is defining the culture?

Jesus knew the value of telling stories and He really understood why it was so important to preach about money and material distractions. And to think, that was well before MTV and shows like Cribs, Pimp My Ride and Super Sweet Sixteen.

Today's Gospel from Matthew culminates with the opening of the wise men's treasure-chests and in turn presenting the gifts - gold, frankincense and myrrh - to young Jesus. So, does their significant generosity somehow rationalize our over-the-top gift giving at the holidays - be it in dollar value or quantity? After all, the wise men did give Jesus the best of the best. Or, did they have another purpose in mind when honoring Jesus with their gifts? Oh, and for the record, I don't recall the Gospel text mentioning anything about a Visa bill showing up in mid-January. No, I am quite confident the three Wise Men paid for their stuff in cash.

Another of my favorite passages in the New Testament is the Parable of the Sower because it too speaks to the issue at hand. From Luke 8:5

'A sower went out to sow his seed; and as he sowed, some fell on the path and was trampled on, and the birds of the air ate it up. 6Some fell on the rock; and as it grew up, it withered for lack of moisture. 7Some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew with it and choked it. 8Some fell into good soil, and when it grew, it produced a hundredfold.' As he said this, he called out, 'Let anyone with ears to hear listen!'

11 'Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. 12The ones on the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. 13The ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe only for a while and in a time of testing fall away. 14As for what fell among the thorns, these are the ones who hear; but as they go on their way, they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature. 15But as for that in the good soil, these are the ones who, when they hear the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patient endurance.

So, if Jesus were here today, what might His reaction be to our insatiable consumer appetites that so define who we are? What might His reaction be to the myriad of mediums we have for purchasing more stuff? If Jesus were here today, what grade would he give the church for responding to the tidal wave of consumption that now overwhelms His birthday every December?

Last summer Terry Parsons, who is head of Stewardship for the Episcopal Church USA and I were interviewed by Kerry Miller of MN Public Radio. The topic "Should the Church Play a Role in Talking and Teaching about Money?" Suffice it to say Kerry Miller really pressed us to defend why we thought the church should be convening conversations about money and materialism.

In the interview I recalled that immediately after the 2004 presidential election Zogby International polled Americans from coast to coast and asked them to name the number one moral/values crisis facing our country. Contrary to popular belief Americans said the number one moral/values crisis of the day was greed and materialism.

Bottom line, if we (and that includes the church) aren't intentional about teaching and linking financial habits and values as part of our faith journey, the culture of greed and materialism will fill the void. And it won't ask for your permission.

Our culture is working overtime to addict young people to spending and the social, economic and spiritual implications are almost beyond comprehension because we have never been here before. That is, no generation has ever experienced the tsunami of marketing and advertising messages like young people in America.

I realize the information I am sharing today is a lot to process in a short period of time and might even border on depressing. But before you think there is no hope I want to circle back to what Jesus said in the Parable of the Sower.

...some fell on the path and was trampled on, Some fell on the rock; and it withered for lack of moisture. Some fell among the thorns and the thorns grew with it and choked it. Some fell into good soil, and when it grew, it produced a hundred fold..."

Muhammed Yunus, the recent recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize who is from Bangladesh, made his first micro loan in 1976; $27 to 43 villagers near the University where he was teaching to help them start their own business. He said he asked himself, "If you can make so many people happy with such a small amount of money shouldn't you do more of it." By the way - all the villagers repaid him in full.

"But as for that in the good soil, these are the ones who, when they hear the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart and bear fruit with patient endurance."

Patient endurance. Step by step. Little by little we make our way in the world pursuing what God is truly calling us to do...and be. And the research supports us on this one. That is, people who focus less on spending and more on saving and sharing not only are happier, but also healthier.

I was traveling down in North Carolina a few years ago and heard a preacher share a very memorable phrase in his sermon. He said, "Hope, without a plan, is denial." The point he was trying to make is that it's fine to hope a particular situation like hyper-consumption will improve; but it doesn't mean much unless there is some kind of action plan attached to the statement. We can hope that our children don't become addicted to spending, but absent an intentional plan to counter the messages of hyper-consumption the current trends of "it's all about me" which often lead to debt and diminished sharing are not likely to change.

This will require new ideas and new conversations both on the micro and macro level. That is, a different focus both in our homes and here at Family of Christ in Chanhassen. Mother Teresa has a wonderful quote: "do not wait for the leaders, do it alone, person-to-person."

If we don't take it upon ourselves to teach young people about gratitude and patience and sacrificing for things we believe in then who will? How will they know the joy of giving and the value of saving and investing if we don't challenge them at a young age to share generously, save wisely and spend appropriately?

Last fall I gave a presentation at a large Financial Services firm out east. After I finished speaking, I was chatting with a few people and one of them shared the following story about his son. "Earlier in the year my wife and I decided to implement the Share Save Spend allowance with our 8 year-old son Jason after reading your book. Last August, after Hurricane Katrina, Jason learned about an appeal at our church to help the people on the Gulf Coast. At that point, I think he had around $42 dollars in his SSS bank of which $10 was earmarked for Sharing. The next week Jason asked us if it was okay to give his share money to the Katrina Fund at church. Of course we agreed. On the way home from church we asked him about the experience. Jason, who is a boy of few words, said it made him feel really good. When we got home, Jason told us to come to his room because he wanted to show us something. (And this is where the father was overcome with emotion in telling me the story). What Jason wanted to show us is that all three of his banks - Share Save and Spend - were empty. So we asked him, 'why did you give all your money to the Katrina fund' and Jason said, "Because I have so much and they lost everything."

But as for that in the good soil, these are the ones who, when they hear the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart and bear fruit with patient endurance."

Amen.