http://www.faithstreet.com/onfaith/2015/01/06/5-money-mistakes-that-are-also-god-mistakes/35666
The recent PBS documentary, Thinking Money: The psychology behind our best and worst financial decisions, never mentions religion, but I couldn’t help but relate the worst money decisions it describes to belief in God. (My favorite connection between money and God is the George Carlin routine about an all-powerful, all-knowing, and all-wise God who just can’t manage money. His “messengers” always need more.)
Consider these 5 points from the PBS documentary, along with my related God thoughts.
The recent PBS documentary, Thinking Money: The psychology behind our best and worst financial decisions, never mentions religion, but I couldn’t help but relate the worst money decisions it describes to belief in God. (My favorite connection between money and God is the George Carlin routine about an all-powerful, all-knowing, and all-wise God who just can’t manage money. His “messengers” always need more.)
Consider these 5 points from the PBS documentary, along with my related God thoughts.
Money Point 1: Security
People used to work for the same company all their lives and retire with a comfortable pension. Today’s workers are insecure about their financial future, which makes them more vulnerable to financial charlatans. For instance, some brokers promise big upsides to penny stocks with essentially no downside, even though such faith in future rewards almost never pays off.
Related God Thought
People who are insecure and unhappy in this life are more vulnerable to evangelical charlatans who promote big upsides in an afterlife. This requires lots of faith, often furthered by a financial “love offering.”
Money Point 2: Gambling
Most casino gamblers lose money most of the time. But casinos are designed so that a few players will occasionally win big if they play long enough. People remember wins more than losses (an example of confirmation bias), and so they return again and again.
Related God Thought
Most prayers for miracles go unfulfilled. The law of averages, rather than God, can easily generate a “miracle” (an unusual or not-easily explained occurrence). People remember prayers that are allegedly answered (surviving a plane crash, winning the lottery, spontaneous cure), but not unanswered prayers. So believers continue to pray for and believe in miracles, and also in God’s positive response to prayers.
Money Point 3: Emotional or rational decision
The brain has both emotional and rational parts, and the rational is slave to the emotional -- a product of evolution. When people in dangerous situations had to act quickly, they were propelled by emotion, without time to analyze. In a taste test, people sampled wines from a $10 bottle and from a $90 bottle. Not surprisingly, just about all participants preferred the more expensive wine. (They didn’t know that the samples were from the same $10 bottle.) Interestingly, participants also took MRI tests as they sampled wine, and brain activity increased in the pleasure part of the brain when they thought they were savoring wine from the $90 bottle.
Related God Thought
Just as wine drinkers got what they paid for (more pleasure), so it can be with God believers -- even if God is a delusion. Spending money on expensive toys can bring short-lived pleasure, at least until the money runs out. Similarly, trusting God to solve problems might make people happy for a while, but it is more beneficial to look for rational solutions.
Money Point 4: Too much choice
A supermarket offered 24 jars of jam to sample in one area and 6 jars in another. People were attracted initially to the 24 jars, but were more likely to buy from among the 6 jars. When there are too many choices, customers find it more difficult to make a decision.
That’s not much of a problem with jams, but it is with retirement plans. When a company is willing to match at least 50% of contributions into a retirement plan, that’s generally a wise move. However, when too many choices are offered, the number of workers who fail to contribute goes up.
Related God Thought
People who are exposed to different gods and religions are more likely to become agnostic or atheist. I welcome such exposure because it’s better to choose no god than a false god (all of them). A little (or even a lot of) knowledge can be a dangerous thing, but it’s also a prerequisite for making wise decisions.
Money Point 5: The default
To maximize participation in company retirement plans, some companies establish one from which workers must actively opt out. Having a default plan is effective in bringing a desired goal. For instance, suppose a will does not specify whether to donate organs after death. The default in some countries is to donate organs, while in other countries the default is not to donate. Overwhelmingly, people “choose” the default.
Related God Thought
People usually grow up with a god default, implanted by family and culture. That’s why most Asians are Buddhists; people from India are mainly Hindus; Saudi Arabians are Muslims; Israelis are mostly Jews; and the majority in the United States are Christians. In other words, religious belief seems to be based more on geography than theology.
Learning about many religions (the opposite of default) is one of the most effective paths to atheism, especially if the rational part of the brain can persuade the emotional part. With all the conflicting faith beliefs in the world, they can’t all be right. But they can all be wrong.
Therefore, when making choices about money, gods, and other issues, we should stop to think about whether we are being guided more by the rational or the emotional part of our brains -- and that’s true even regarding love, as in the song “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes.” If something seems too good to be true, beware of possible smoke and mirrors!
People used to work for the same company all their lives and retire with a comfortable pension. Today’s workers are insecure about their financial future, which makes them more vulnerable to financial charlatans. For instance, some brokers promise big upsides to penny stocks with essentially no downside, even though such faith in future rewards almost never pays off.
Related God Thought
People who are insecure and unhappy in this life are more vulnerable to evangelical charlatans who promote big upsides in an afterlife. This requires lots of faith, often furthered by a financial “love offering.”
Money Point 2: Gambling
Most casino gamblers lose money most of the time. But casinos are designed so that a few players will occasionally win big if they play long enough. People remember wins more than losses (an example of confirmation bias), and so they return again and again.
Related God Thought
Most prayers for miracles go unfulfilled. The law of averages, rather than God, can easily generate a “miracle” (an unusual or not-easily explained occurrence). People remember prayers that are allegedly answered (surviving a plane crash, winning the lottery, spontaneous cure), but not unanswered prayers. So believers continue to pray for and believe in miracles, and also in God’s positive response to prayers.
Money Point 3: Emotional or rational decision
The brain has both emotional and rational parts, and the rational is slave to the emotional -- a product of evolution. When people in dangerous situations had to act quickly, they were propelled by emotion, without time to analyze. In a taste test, people sampled wines from a $10 bottle and from a $90 bottle. Not surprisingly, just about all participants preferred the more expensive wine. (They didn’t know that the samples were from the same $10 bottle.) Interestingly, participants also took MRI tests as they sampled wine, and brain activity increased in the pleasure part of the brain when they thought they were savoring wine from the $90 bottle.
Related God Thought
Just as wine drinkers got what they paid for (more pleasure), so it can be with God believers -- even if God is a delusion. Spending money on expensive toys can bring short-lived pleasure, at least until the money runs out. Similarly, trusting God to solve problems might make people happy for a while, but it is more beneficial to look for rational solutions.
Money Point 4: Too much choice
A supermarket offered 24 jars of jam to sample in one area and 6 jars in another. People were attracted initially to the 24 jars, but were more likely to buy from among the 6 jars. When there are too many choices, customers find it more difficult to make a decision.
That’s not much of a problem with jams, but it is with retirement plans. When a company is willing to match at least 50% of contributions into a retirement plan, that’s generally a wise move. However, when too many choices are offered, the number of workers who fail to contribute goes up.
Related God Thought
People who are exposed to different gods and religions are more likely to become agnostic or atheist. I welcome such exposure because it’s better to choose no god than a false god (all of them). A little (or even a lot of) knowledge can be a dangerous thing, but it’s also a prerequisite for making wise decisions.
Money Point 5: The default
To maximize participation in company retirement plans, some companies establish one from which workers must actively opt out. Having a default plan is effective in bringing a desired goal. For instance, suppose a will does not specify whether to donate organs after death. The default in some countries is to donate organs, while in other countries the default is not to donate. Overwhelmingly, people “choose” the default.
Related God Thought
People usually grow up with a god default, implanted by family and culture. That’s why most Asians are Buddhists; people from India are mainly Hindus; Saudi Arabians are Muslims; Israelis are mostly Jews; and the majority in the United States are Christians. In other words, religious belief seems to be based more on geography than theology.
Learning about many religions (the opposite of default) is one of the most effective paths to atheism, especially if the rational part of the brain can persuade the emotional part. With all the conflicting faith beliefs in the world, they can’t all be right. But they can all be wrong.
Therefore, when making choices about money, gods, and other issues, we should stop to think about whether we are being guided more by the rational or the emotional part of our brains -- and that’s true even regarding love, as in the song “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes.” If something seems too good to be true, beware of possible smoke and mirrors!
