How do you become more spiritually fit? For starters, this passage talks about putting off your old self and becoming new. You’ve seen those before-and-after pictures of people who supposedly have followed some diet plan and lost tons of weight—they look like new people. Well, God is calling us to become new on the inside.
When we are baptized into Christ, our former self is buried. The old man is gone, and the new re-created man is to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. Where do we start in this recreation? Read the Scripture: “Put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body.” Quit lying and speak the truth. We have to remember that people will not always like it when we tell the truth, especially if we say things they don’t want to hear. But it is important to speak the truth, no matter what others want you to say. God doesn’t like it when we lie.
Then the Scripture says: “In your anger do not sin.” Anger itself is not a sin; there are some things we should be angry about. If six thugs beat up an elderly woman and steal her purse, we should be angry about it. If a con man takes advantage of us, we should be mad about it. It isn’t right. But you don’t have to sin when you’re upset. If you get angry with your wife during an argument, you might want to start cursing her. You’re sinning. If you’re so mad at her that you lash out and hit her, you’ve sinned big-time. What’s the way out? Turn and walk away and don’t say a word. But if you walk away and you’re still bitter and angry and won’t turn it loose, you’re still sinning. The only way you’re going to get out of it without sinning is to forgive her, don’t hold it against her, and go on down the road.
If you’ve been a thief or a burglar, quit stealing and go to work. Instead of taking things from others, do something useful with your hands so you’ll be able to share it with somebody in need.
And hey, how hard would it be to get that filthy language out of your mouth? Only say things that help build people up and get the negative, unwholesome, filthy, vile language out of your mouth.
Paul goes on to tell us to get rid of bitterness, rage, anger, brawling, and slander and be kind and compassionate to others. We need to imitate God and live a life of love.
We must learn how to forgive each other and not hold grudges. In the Ephesians passage, Paul the Apostle tells us: “Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry.” Don’t become bitter, because the sun will go down and you’ll still be mad. Some people hold grudges for years and it isn’t healthy. If you stay mad more than a day, you’re giving the devil a foothold. We need to have mercy and forgive each other, as God is merciful in forgiving us.
Hey, if someone is trying to steal something from you, let him have it. It’s like the time I caught the men stealing fish from my nets in the Ouachita River when I was still a commercial fisherman. Even after I caught them red-handed, I told them they could keep the fish. Of course, they looked at me like I was half nuts (I was holding a shotgun in my lap), but they never came back and stole from me again.
If people get mad at you, don’t retaliate. If somebody insults you, what are you going to do? Nothing—except love them. Who is the stronger man? The man who gets insulted and wants to fight, lashing out with his tongue, fists, or a gun, or the man who forgives, walks away, and doesn’t hold it against him? Remaining silent while being insulted is wise. That’s the difference between being a spiritual man and being an ungodly man. Nowadays, people want to fight over anything, even the most trivial of matters. But spiritual people say, “Hey, I don’t hold it against you, brother. No problem.” A weak man retaliates quickly; a strong man is slow to anger. If the other person lashes out at you, tell them, “Hey, I still love you.” It’s really that easy.
We must also learn to have forgiveness in our hearts. God has forgiven all of our sins and we need to readily forgive others, too. You might ask: How many times do I have to forgive them, Phil? Seven times, maybe? Jesus said “seventy times seven.” You have sinned more than seven times, have you not? Do what He said—seventy times seven or forever!
Basically, spiritual training is this: you take away the bad and replace it with good. After my romping and stomping days, I was converted and baptized. I put my former life in the rearview mirror and was born again. I ran with the wicked for twenty-eight years. The last thirty-nine years, I’ve run with the Jesus people. The contrast is astounding; it’s like night and day. I asked the man who converted me, “Hey, let me ask you something. How long does it take to get these wicked thoughts out of my mind?”
“Phil, how long did it take you to put them there?” he asked me.
“Twenty-eight years,” I told him.
“Well, it will be a while,” he said. “Think of your biblical heart as a computer. You put material into your heart like you do when you load information into a computer. What you put into your heart is what is eventually going to come out of your mouth.”
Much like dieting, achieving spiritual well-being takes time and discipline. Unfortunately, we live in a society that seems to want to offer a quick fix for every one of our problems. There are one-day seminars or audio courses for everything—as long as we’re willing to pay the price. We can learn Spanish, French, or some other foreign language in four weeks or less by listening to audio lessons. We can learn to play the guitar in only a few short weeks; you can even become a “pastor” with a few clicks on your computer. Too many people aren’t willing to put in the time and practice to master skills anymore.
But the bottom line is you will not lose weight if you’re not disciplined about your diet and exercise. Likewise, you will not succeed spiritually if you do not become a disciplined person and put in the necessary time and effort. Discipline requires motivation, and there’s no greater motivation than eternity. Pray to God and read the Bible. You have to want to lose weight, and you have to want to become a better Christian and person. 1 Peter 2:1–3 tells us, “Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.”
Instead of growing in our faith, too many of us are content to remain infants. We should be eating solid foods, not milk, but we are unwilling to develop and mature. In order to grow, we need to deepen our faith and understanding of His word. Rather than obsessing about our diets, cholesterol, and calories, we should give much more energy to investing in eternal health care, the grace of God given through Jesus. Hope is a wonderful thing, and I don’t see any hope outside of Jesus. Peace with God is hope.
So take care of your spiritual well-being, and eat all the fried chicken and pecan pie you want.
3
MONEY
Fix No. 3: Focus on Your Eternal Inheritance, Not Your Portfolio
People ask me all the time how the success of Duck Dynasty has changed my life. Well, I can’t go many places without being noticed anymore. But it was kind of that way before the TV show came along. Hey, I’m pretty hard to miss because of my beard and camouflage clothes! I’ve noticed that I usually have a much bigger audience when I go speak at churches and other groups, and, of course, Miss Kay and I have a little more money in the bank.
Is it more fun being rich than poor? Sure, it’s a lot more fun having money in the bank, instead of having to worry about how you’re going to pay your bills every month. I guess having money in the bank gives you a little bit of peace of mind, but it really hasn’t changed our lifestyle very much. When I was fishing the Ouachita River for a living, I made about $225 a week. I had to break my back every day to earn the money. It was hard work, but I never complained. Even though we didn’t have much in terms of money and material possessions, the Robertsons were a happy family. We managed to make do with what we had, which wasn’t much, and I don’t think my boys ever felt like they were missing out on anything. We always had enough bait, ammunition, and patience to catch or shoot what we needed to eat, and Miss Kay and my pare
nts grew plenty of fruits and vegetables in our garden. I took ol’ Ben Franklin at his word: “He that waits upon fortune, is never sure of a dinner.”
We’re certainly eating a lot better now than we were before. Instead of having crappie, catfish, duck, or crawfish seven days a week, we’ll eat a rib-eye steak or lobster every now and then. But we’re still eating a lot of duck and crawfish—our appetite for those delicious foods will never change. We’re living in the same house we purchased in 1976, and I’m still driving a pickup truck. I guess some things will always stay the same. However, I have noticed a few big changes since the money came rolling in. Miss Kay had bigger closets built in our bedroom because our stuff was piled up in a little tight space. We have a pretty small house; there’s a kitchen, dining area, living room, two bedrooms, and two bathrooms. It’s nice to have a bigger closet to hold more camouflage clothes, guns, and ammo for duck season. She also added a bigger pantry in the kitchen to store more canned goods, such as mayhaw jelly, chowchow, and pickled vegetables.
Miss Kay recently had an outdoor country kitchen built next to our house so she would have a bigger space to cook when we entertain family, friends, and other guests. It has a bigger stove that makes it easier for her to cook, and it doesn’t get so hot in the kitchen during the summertime when she’s frying fish and preparing other dishes. We have more grub, more camouflage clothes, and more shoes for Miss Kay. I guess those are the first things rednecks buy when the money starts coming in.
Now, I have to admit that I have expanded our duck hole a little bit. I purchased an additional twenty acres on one side of my property and about forty-five acres down the way. We were trying to make our duck hole a little more productive, and now there is additional land to plant more corn and other crops to try to attract more ducks. My sons will inherit my land when I die, so it will give them a place to hunt with their kids, grandkids, and great-grandkids. It will pay off in the future for my sons, and the property will stay within the Robertson family. I’m leaving them a good inheritance.
But more important, I’m thinking about the inheritance my family will have in the afterlife. Romans 8:14–17 tells us: “For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, ‘Abba, Father.’ The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.”
You have to understand this: God adopts people who come to Jesus. When you come to Jesus, you’re born of God. You are free from sin and death because Jesus paid for your sins on the cross and because God accepted His sacrifice. Once you’re born of God, He becomes your Father. You end up inheriting what your Father has. It’s like what my four sons and their families will inherit from me when I’m six feet under the ground on the physical earth. The Spirit Himself, the Holy Spirit, frees us and gives us the power to really live for God. Once you’re sealed with the Spirit, it means you’re God’s child. Now, the Bible tells us that if we’re His children, then we’re His heirs and co-heirs with Christ: “Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory” (emphasis added). So, yes, God’s children have an inheritance coming. We’re adopted and added to God’s family, and Jesus is our brother, our savior, and our Lord. As co-heirs with Jesus, we get what His father has. How could you ever want anything more?
The U.S. economy is in terrible shape, and it has been that way for the last six years. Americans are worried about the balances of their bank accounts and retirement savings. They’re concerned about the stock market, interest rates, and inflation. They’re worried about the rising costs of health care and the declining values of their homes. But as children of God, our focus needs to be on spiritual things, and we need to quit worrying so much about financial things.
Money is fleeting. It is here today and gone tomorrow. True financial success and happiness come not from accumulating a big balance in your checking account but from following God’s plan for your life. He will provide for all of your needs. If you put your faith in Jesus and know that you will ultimately inherit what God has, you’ll be content with what you have while you’re on earth. If the riches come, so be it. Be generous with what you have and help care for your neighbors, the sick, and the poor. But you need to remember this: at the end of the day, if you end up inheriting what the Creator of the cosmos has, you will have everything there is, because God owns it all. What a thought! You’ll want for nothing. That is the promise God made to us—we will inherit everything He has made. Talk about inheriting some land!
I can honestly say that I never contemplated getting rich, even after Duck Commander took off and Duck Dynasty started getting bigger and bigger. I was perfectly content making $225 a week fishing the river and selling a few thousand duck calls every year. I was able to make a living doing what I loved to do most, and that’s hunting ducks and fishing the river. I think that’s why so many people tell me that I’m the same way now that I was when I didn’t have much. I was and am perfectly happy, as long as I’m doing what I love.
I truly believe there’s a difference between getting rich and God blessing you mightily. The love of money and the never-ending quest to make it are the roots of all kinds of evil. Sadly, when the stock market collapsed, we had stockbrokers jumping out of windows to their deaths. Children are killing each other over expensive tennis shoes. The bankruptcy and foreclosure statistics in America are staggering. People are spending money beyond their means because they’re trying to keep up with the Joneses. It’s nonsense.
America’s quest for money is rampant. We’ve become consumed by material possessions, wanting what others have and trying to build our bank accounts as big as we can. Coveting—or wanting—what our neighbors have is a sin. God’s blessings for them may not be His blessing for us.
When I think about America’s thirst for money and material possessions, I recall a story told to me in church one Sunday not too long ago. Although I’m not entirely sure the story is factually accurate, I think it gets my point across. In 1923, eight of the wealthiest men in America met at the Edgewater Beach Hotel in Chicago. The group included the head of one of the world’s greatest monopolies, one of the most successful speculators on Wall Street, a former president of the largest U.S. steel company, a past chairman of one of the country’s largest utility companies, a past president of the New York Stock Exchange, a future president of the Bank for International Settlements, and a past member of U.S. president Warren G. Harding’s cabinet. Together, the men were worth billions of dollars and controlled more money than the U.S. Treasury did at the time.
Well, money certainly didn’t buy the multimillionaires happiness. Ivar Kreuger, who built a global matchbook empire, committed suicide. Jesse Livermore, who was known as the “Great Bear of Wall Street” and was famous for building and then losing several multimillion-dollar fortunes during the stock market crashes of 1907 and 1929, killed himself in the cloakroom of a New York hotel. Leon Fraser, head of the Bank for International Settlements, also committed suicide. Charles M. Schwab, the American steel magnate, died a pauper after blowing through a fortune that would have been worth an estimated five hundred million to eight hundred million dollars today. Samuel Insull, chairman of Commonwealth Edison Company, was acquitted of bilking investors and died of a heart attack after losing most of his fortune. The other three men—Associated Gas and Electric Utility president Howard Hopson, New York Stock Exchange president Richard Whitney, and former U.S. secretary of the interior Albert Fall—served prison sentences before their deaths.
That story reminds me that money and power won’t bring you happiness. There are plenty of modern-day examples of millionaires and
billionaires blowing through their fortunes through lavish spending and irresponsible stewardship. We see it over and over again in Hollywood and professional sports. When an actor or athlete reaches the pinnacle of his or her profession, they sign multimillion-dollar contracts and don’t know how to handle their newly found fortunes. They surround themselves with big entourages, and their family members and greedy friends can’t wait to get their hands on the money. They don’t have a lot of discipline in their lives, there’s no Jesus, and so they spend millions of dollars in a matter of months. When the dust settles, their money is gone and their friends are nowhere to be found. They burn out and end up broke and destitute. They are left thinking, What in the world happened? Well, they were caught up in the rat race of extravagant living and didn’t make sound decisions about their lives. Like I said, money can be here today and gone tomorrow.
The truth is that God owns everything and everything we receive comes from Him. God is the one who created all the earth, and all in it belongs to Him. We might have to work hard to earn a living, but God is the one who gives us the health and strength to complete our jobs. We shouldn’t strive to be rich, and as Christians we shouldn’t hoard our money. Our goal should be to live below our means and be content with what God has given us. There’s a big difference between necessities and desires, and we need to stop buying indulgences only because we have the available credit to purchase them. God doesn’t want us to go into debt. Instead, we should save money for unforeseen expenses and emergencies and give generously to the church and other charitable organizations. Our hearts should always be on the lookout for how we can help the people who need it most.
Managing your money isn’t hard. Before you buy something, whether it’s a new TV, truck, gun, or shirt, ask yourself one question: “Do I really need it?” Is it a necessity or is it a luxury? Before I became semifamous and car dealers started giving me trucks to drive, I drove them until the wheels fell off. Even though clothing companies like Under Armour now give me whatever I want to wear, I still wear my socks and T-shirts until they can’t be worn anymore. When you flip on your TV, do you really need three hundred channels? Do you think you could get by with only sixty? Look around your house, and I’m sure you’ll find dozens of ways to save money if you really think about it. I can tell you this: you’ll rarely see me eating out in a restaurant. I don’t understand why so many Americans want to eat their meals at fast-food joints or fancier sit-down restaurants. It’s going to cost you twice as much to eat, and it’s not going to taste nearly as good as what you could cook at home. Why would you want to eat your meals in a restaurant full of strangers instead of eating a home-cooked meal with your loved ones at the dinner table? Americans spend about forty-five billion dollars a month eating out, according to research from the U.S. Census Bureau, and sales at eating and drinking places have reached an all-time high!
unPHILtered: The Way I See It Page 3
