YOLO, Tolkien and Wealth

Canadian rapper Drake is credited with popularizing the term “YOLO,” an acronym for “you only live once.” It’s meant to inspire people to throw caution to the wind and seek adventure by following their whims. Carpe Diem!

I’m not into rap, but I can still remember the way Schlitz beer captured the same concept in 1971.  They told us “You only go round once in life, so grab for all the gusto!”  To remember that phrase after 50 years says something about the enduring power of the message.

What interests me about these two popular phases is the implications for your finances. They are bold metaphysical assertions that when you die, that’s it. Nothing more. If you believe YOLO, does it make any difference in how you handle money? Or, if you hold to religious beliefs of a hereafter, does it make any difference in how you manage your finances?

Personal finance bloggers like me look at just about every dimension of how we handle our money. We write on everything from the best financial tactics to cognitive biases and psychological money disorders. But probably because religion is pretty touchy to discuss in polite company, many advisors tend to ignore it. And yet, we know that religious beliefs, or lack of them, can have a tremendous influence on how we think about and manage our life and money. So, I am going to give it a shot in today’s post.

Let me start to answer those questions with a story of how a literary giant said no to YOLO and finished his greatest work as a result.

Tolkien’s Answer to YOLO

Everyone has heard of J.R.R. Tolkien because of his incredible books The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. But I’ve seldom talked to anyone that is aware of his short story with the title “Leaf by Niggle.” It was written during World War II when Tolkien was half way through writing Lord of the Rings.

Tolkien was in despair that he would never complete his life work. He was 50 years old and had experienced firsthand the horrors of World War I. England was likely to be invaded and he had many doubts he would survive. This stress had weighed on him and the thought of not finishing was a dreadful and numbing thought. He was without the mental energy to continue.

The Leaf by Niggle story is only 10 pages long. I hope you’ll read it. The protagonist, Niggle, was a struggling artist. He found frustration in his work just like we all do. And death (a train he was forced to board) came calling before he had completed his masterpiece landscape painting.

But rather than end in death, Niggle is transported to a new country. There he finds the results of his work in full detail and finished. His work had not died with him, but was a part of the new reality. To paraphrase St. Paul, “His labor was not in vain.”

Tolkien steadied himself by writing this story because it’s grounded in a Christian understanding of reality. The reality of life after death. With new inspiration, he completed his books in a dark time. His books are recognized as the work of a genius. But we now know the books may never have been completed without the hope he found in his own story.

Can you imagine if the writers club Tolkien belonged to called “The Inklings” held a YOLO worldview? I can see Tolkien counseling C.S. Lewis, “Lewis, chill man! Forget about finishing that Narnia tale and grab another brew. YOLO buddy!” Okay, maybe not, but you get my point. 

Evidence that Religion Creates Affluence

Max Weber was a German economist who wrote a book called The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. The book looked closely at religion and its impact on how we manage our money.  It’s not an easy read, but it has been cited as one of the most important books of the 20^th century.

In short, Weber found dramatic increases in affluence in those countries that embraced the religious beliefs of the Reformation. Why? For one, there was a dramatic shift of human and financial capital in those countries away from building churches, and into secular pursuits.

So, why would an intensely religious movement produce economic secularization? The beginning of capitalism out of religion?  Because of a radical realization that all of life was sacred. It wasn’t just the clergy that served God and man.

The baker who made bread was used to answer the prayer “Give us this day our daily bread.” Perhaps the baker should reinvest his profits in his business then, rather than give it all to the church. This new way of thinking changed everything.

The freedom to move resources away from building bigger and bigger cathedrals and into business pursuits created prosperity.  Savings and investment were no longer seen as a threat to the soul, but a means to create human flourishing through business. The world would never be the same.

Personal finance: YOLO versus Christian

Today the conflict is not between Catholics and Protestants. Rather, the lines are drawn more between the YOLO believers and those who continue to hold to the economic teachings that came out of the reformation. The Spirit of Capitalism. Here are four areas that compare and contrast the two worldviews.

First, frugal living, or conservation, was a part of the Reformation mindset along with the virtue of making a profit. Living below one’s means with contentment guaranteed wealth would be accumulated. This religious influence against signaling our growing affluence through possessions is incorporated into much personal finance teaching today.  Whether it’s FIRE, Suze Orman or Dave Ramsey, there is wide agreement that frugality, combined with growing your income, is the way to prosperity.  YOLO?  They are not too much into saying no to desires.

Second, the YOLO adherents might be surprised to find a rich Christian tradition of celebration and joyful living. I love the concept of the rejoicing tithe in the Old Testament. This tithe required the Israelites to spend a sizeable portion of their income on rejoicing feasts. Remembering this practice is a way to protect against the joyless accumulation of wealth that crushes the soul. Perhaps there is common ground with YOLO here.

Third, Max Weber was skeptical that a truly religious life could be lived while holding earthly treasures. The monastic life free of money was seen as the way of holiness. What he failed to appreciate was the ability to see wealth as something we manage as stewards for God, and not as owners. John Wesley, founder of the Methodist church, summarized a Christian view of wealth, “Make all you can, save all you can, give all you can.” I suspect YOLO adherents see any money coming into their life as useful mostly for hedonistic pursuits.

Finally, the Christian tradition of charity flowing from our excess wealth did not change with the Reformation. While more people are helped today by a thriving economy than through charity, the need for charitable gifts remains a vital part of religion. In fact, charitable giving was almost unknown in the Roman empire. The Christians began to practice charity to the amazement of the Romans. That practice has now penetrated most of the world and I would expect many YOLO adherents also share this charitable instinct.

This is a very fertile topic with much more that could be said, but it’s time to hit the send button. However, I’d love to extend the discussion through you. If you are religious, I’d love to know how you connect the dots from your faith to your money. And if you’re not, I would enjoy hearing from you on what beliefs impact your views of how you manage your money.

Joe Kesler

 Smart Money with Purpose