Reason 2: embezzlement — stewardship, talents, investing vs gambling
- Is investing in the stock market just gambling like blackjack?
Piper's reason two (a kind of embezzlement: managers don't gamble their master's money) sparks a long debate: the parable of the talents and its historical background, whether churches playing bingo undercuts the argument, whether stock-market investing is just gambling like blackjack, and the key distinction that in a mutual fund your managers are your allies while in gambling the house is your enemy.
More on Stewardship
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Dear LFTP: the inheritance and the controlling husband
- Should a mother leave an inheritance to a daughter whose controlling husband will control it?
The second letter comes from a mother whose daughter married a controlling, rude husband; she wonders whether to leave a sizable inheritance knowing he will control it.
From No. 584 · When Vanek Was Here | Cambodia Testimony, Church Mission, Josiah Queen
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Twelve stumbling blocks, part one: money
- Do the twelve stumbling blocks line up with what we are seeing in the church?
A host introduces an op-ed listing twelve stumbling blocks to the gospel for millennials (born 1981–1996 — 'that's Mike and I') and the hosts begin working through them.
From No. 444 · Fake Persecution and Tripping Millennials
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Survey top ten: success, sex, sin, and wealth
- How should success be defined?
The hosts run through the survey's top ten spiritually inclusive beliefs. They debate how to define success (happy? comfortable? good? fulfilled potential?) and why comfort-driven measures cannot motivate communal or sacrificial action.
From No. 442 · Christians Don’t Understand Christianity
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Dear LFTP: first communion on a tight budget
- Dear LFTP: With no budget for a first-communion party, how do I tell extended family they are welcome at the church but there will be no party?
A mother writes that her son's first communion is coming, the family cannot afford even an inexpensive party, and she wants to limit the celebration to parents and grandparents — but feels guilty about the godparents and extended family.
From No. 339 · Kenny Got A Plane