unPHILtered: The Way I See It (5 page)

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!

When is America going to learn that money won’t solve all of its ills? First Timothy 6:6–7 says:
“Godliness with contentment is
great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it.”
You can amass a fortune while you’re on earth, but trust me, dude, you’re not taking any of it with you. Where you’re going it wouldn’t make any difference, so quit running so fast and trying to amass money. Learn the secret of godliness with contentment. It’s not about money, no matter how much you make. When you die, they’re going to put your best duds on you and then others are going to fight over what you amassed. Once you’re in the ground, they’ll haggle over your cash, house, cars, guns, and boats. You’re not taking any of it with you. When certain funeral homes are asked to provide clothing for the deceased, the undertakers purposely dress men in suits without pockets. Hey, there aren’t any pockets because you’re not taking anything with you!

When Miss Kay and I decided to slow down and have less of a role at Duck Commander, we all but gave the company to our sons. Duck Commander certainly wasn’t what it is today, but it was successful enough for my three sons to make a pretty good living. Willie had the best business mind out of the bunch. Even when he was in junior high, he was bootlegging candy and all but took over the concession business. The principal called me and chewed me out about it.

We designated Willie to be the CEO of Duck Commander, and he and his wife, Korie, ended up buying the company from
us. The rest of my sons also work for Duck Commander. My oldest son, Alan, who is a preacher, is the spiritual adviser of the bunch. Jase is the best hunter among the boys and probably has the most analytical mind. He makes sure the duck calls are built correctly and sound exactly like ducks. Jep, my youngest son, shoots and edits our video for our hunting DVDs. He has the best creative mind among them. I told my sons that as long as they sent me a check every month and gave Miss Kay and me enough money to pay our bills, I really didn’t need anything more. Now that the company has become famous worldwide, the checks are getting bigger and bigger every month. They’re all getting rich out of the deal.

When the money started coming in, Miss Kay and I really didn’t know what to do with it. We were like, “Whoa, the Almighty is blessing us in a new way.” We decided to be generous and charitable and help as many people as we could. We’re building schools in Africa and helping to finance mission trips to spread the Good News around the world. We were the same way when we didn’t have any money. When I was making $225 a week, our house was always filled with people who were down on their luck. We shared the Good News with them, fed them, housed them, and gave them opportunities to turn their lives around. We never turned anyone away if they needed help and really wanted to help themselves. I like to think that since we did right when we didn’t have much money, the blessings started pouring in once
Duck Dynasty
took off.

One day, I asked Miss Kay, “I know we’re rich now, but when am I going to feel rich?” Her answer was: “Phil, we were content when were poor, so we won’t ever feel rich.” She was right.

Save your money, buy only what you need, give generously, and, most important, prepare yourself for God’s inheritance.

A
recent study by International Data Corporation revealed that 50 percent of the American population uses some sort of smartphone. Now, I’ve never owned a cell phone and, rest assured, I never will. But from what I’ve seen over the last several years, smartphones only seem to make their users dumber. I laugh every time I see someone struggling to carry shopping bags and an umbrella through a parking lot on a rainy day while holding a cell phone to his ear. Hang up the phone, you idiot! You wouldn’t believe how many times my sons Willie and Jep have dropped their iPhones in the water while we’re duck hunting. Okay, tell me again exactly why you needed them in the duck blind. Were you going to call the ducks with your cell phones? It seems, from my vantage point, that most people spend a lot of time trying to find their cell phone!

Americans need to get off their cell phones—my sons included. Contrary to what you’re thinking, you can live without them. I promise you can operate and function without them. I don’t have one. You don’t have to have one, either. And while you’re at it, get off your desktop computer, laptop, iPad, tablet, reader, and whatever other mobile devices you own. I’ve never figured out how the computer, the very device that was supposed to revolutionize the way we live and save us so much time, ended up occupying so much of our time. Americans can’t stay off them!

The IDC study revealed some alarming facts about Americans. Did you know that 79 percent of smartphone users reach for their devices within fifteen minutes of waking up? A majority of them—62 percent—don’t even wait fifteen minutes! I have an idea: why don’t you grab a Bible and read, or lie there in bed and pray or meditate for a few quiet moments? Hey, news flash, folks: I promise you it’s the only quiet time you’re probably going to get in this busy, busy world. Why don’t you take advantage of a few moments of solitude and slow down, Jack?

I’m convinced that the Internet and social media in particular, the very things that were supposed to bring us closer together, have actually distanced us from each other more than ever before. They’re destroying the social interaction among humans. We don’t talk to anybody anymore, and we’ve isolated ourselves, spending most of our time in front of a computer or tapping the screens of our smartphones and tablets. We’ve become robots. In
1950, less than 10 percent of American households contained only one person. By 2012, almost 27 percent of households were a single person. Who needs a spouse or roommate when you have five hundred friends on Facebook or one thousand followers on Twitter? I don’t get it.

And don’t even get me started about online dating. Did you know there are actual online dating sites for ugly people, people who like to ride horses, people who like cats, people who dress up like clowns, adults who love to wear diapers, and people with food allergies? I’m not kidding! Hey, I realize there’s probably someone out there for everybody—look at my brother Si for goodness’ sake—but don’t you think there’s a better way to meet Mr. or Mrs. Right than by exchanging a few e-mails? Can’t you meet a woman or man in church or school? How do you really know they’re the one if you’ve never watched them pluck feathers from a duck or clean fish? Don’t you at least need to know what they smell like? You really need to get to know a man or woman face-to-face, because it has been my observation that if people are mean, they get a lot meaner after they’re married. Trust me, you’re going to need more than a cell phone or computer to discover that part of someone’s personality!