big money, little value

Anyone who loves baseball as much as me, knows that when the season is over and December rolls around, things start to heat up. With Baseball’s winter meetings happening in Texas this week, there has been a lot of excitement over the league’s premier player Albert Pujols. Pujols is not only the best player in the game today, but arguably one of the greatest players ever. When Pujols’ contract was up in St. Louis and he hit free agency a bidding war open with Miami and St. Louis. But it was the Angles who swooped down and grabbed Pujols with an estimated 250 million salary for 10 years.

250 million dollars. That’s $25 million year; $480 thousand a week; $68,681 a day! Pujols current 10 year career in the big leagues has produced 6,312 at bats. If he produces similar number of at bats in the next 10 years, that mean Pujols will get paid $39,607 every time he steps up to the plate (even if he strikes out) which is more than most Americans make in a year. $250 million is more than 8 different countries GDP according to statistics provided by CIA website.

Some (mostly Cardinal fans) have called Pujols greedy, others have called him opportunistic, and others shrug their shoulders and say that’s baseball.

I don’t know Albert Pujols. Some seem to think he is a nice guy, there are reports about his strong faith, and some think he has an ego the size of his new contract. While the $250 million contract will define Baseball’s offseason, my hope is that it does not define Pujols life.

As great as you are at your job (and Pujols may be the best there ever was) and no matter how much you make, our life’s happiness and fulfillment must be found in other places. We fall into the lie that the more money means more happiness or more success; but that is a lie. There are many people plagued with sums of money and have no sense of contentment or joy. In fact, Jesus warns those with money several times in scripture,

“But woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort” (Luke 6:24).

Grotesque wealth does not make life easier, it makes life more difficult because it creates distractions and barriers, that’s why Jesus says,

“Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God” (Luke 6:20).

Money does not make a person’s life good or bad, and it does not make a person good or bad, but it does create dangers, not blessings. There is a reason scripture says,

"For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs” (1 Timothy 6:10)

If we make money we must be willing to give it away unlike the rich man (Luke 18:22,23), we must choose who we will serve because we cannot serve God and money (Matthew 6:24). Even though $250 million is a lot of money, it cannot buy mercy, grace, love, forgiveness, and life. It is nothing is the light of eternal matters. We must chose whom we will serve, the never fulfilling lure of money, or fulfilling promise of Jesus Christ.