Is Juice Plus Worth the Money?

So many great potential blog topics this week. It was difficult to choose one. First, you have financial "guru" Suze Orman claiming that she has a net worth of around $25 million and that she has $1 million of that invested in the stock market. She says, "I don't care if I lose that." Is this the type of person America wants to be taking financial advice from? Can someone so cavalier about losing $1 million be giving sound financial advice to the average American?

Second, you have some interesting findings coming out of the Tennessee Center for Policy Research about Oscar-winner Al Gore. Al Gore's consumption of electricity and natural gas at his Tennessee mansion according to this report is $1,500/month or 20 times more than the national average. I will likely revisit this on a future blog.

But the blog idea that won out for me this week was whether Juice Plus is a worthwhile supplement. I hesitate to write this because almost everyone I know takes Juice Plus. Hopefully, I don't lose any friends over these opinions of mine. If you haven't heard about Juice Plus, it is a capsule that you can take daily that is supposed to give you many of the same benefits that you receive from eating lots of fruits and vegetables.

I listened to a cd that was put out on the product about a year ago and it seemed convincing. A quick web search turned up some testimonials from medical professionals swearing to the benefits of this product. Friends who used the product regularly claimed that they were avoiding colds and had noticed some health benefits. So, my family started taking the product.

I was a little surprised that it costs so much. A four-month supply of the fruits & vegetable pills and gummies for children (loaded with corn syrup) costs $244. My skepticism was raised due to the expense initially. I started researching the product online. I spoke to a vitamin consultant at a health foods store. The consultant's exact quote to me was, "I have been in the vitamin business for 25 years. First of all, there is no substitute for fruits and vegetables. Period. Second, there are supplements that make similar claims and have similar ingredients to Juice Plus that you can purchase at 1/3 of the price."

That comment made sense to me. That same week my wife- Amy- attended an educational lunch where the guest speaker was a registered dietician. The woman sells Juice Plus and gave a presentation on why proper nutrition is important and how Juice Plus can help. In an email conversation with my wife a comment was made that really got me thinking. The comment was that Juice Plus is legitimate because Ron Blue endorses the product.

Ron Blue is president of the Christian Financial Professionals Network- an organization that I am a member of. Ron Blue has been a well respected voice in the financial planning community from a biblical perspective. A search on Yahoo showed that you can obtain a cd from Juice Plus with a talk given by Ron Blue on the opportunities of a virtual franchise. I think virtual franchise is one of the new code words for network marketing; home-based business opportunity; multi-level marketing; etc...

You can read and study on Juice Plus and whether it is a good product to take. My family is going to a less expensive alternative personally. You can find some interesting research about the product at a wikipedia page on Juice Plus: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juice_Plus

But a bigger issue to me is should a person of considerable influence in the church be endorsing products that are sold through network marketing? This is not meant to be a criticism of Ron Blue and I intend to ask him this question face-to-face next time I have the chance.

I am a cynic in many ways. I admit it. Sometimes, I wish I wasn't. Life would probably be more enjoyable. One of my thoughts that swirls through my head is that many of these large churches that exist in America are primarily in business to make leaders of the church filthy rich. Either through ministry related activities- Ed Young Jr, TD Jakes, Joyce Meyer, Joel Osteen- come to mind. Or through the peddling of multi-level marketing products. I know some charismatic people who are in positions of leadership in the church who have amassed great wealth through a network marketing opportunity.

But this is not the norm. And here lies the problem. According to R. Hawkins research on network marketing:

1. 95% of people drop out of network marketing within 6 months.
2. 99% of people lose money or make absolutely nothing.
3. The 1% that stay in average around $2,000 a year in profit

You can read about it at http://www.falseprofits.com

With those stats in mind, wouldn't Christians be better off if people of influence endorsed gambling as a better financial strategy than network marketing? Aren't the odds better at the blackjack table?

I don't endorse gambling. It is investing for people who are very bad at math. But the point is: why are so many people sucked into network marketing? And why was I sucked into buying a product that is overpriced and sold through this method? Perhaps we want to believe in the magic solution.

But there are no shortcuts to wealth or health. There are many great people who are involved in network marketing believing something about the product or opportunity that will likely not be found true in the end. Proverbs 13:11, "Wealth obtained by fraud dwindles. But the one who gathers by labor increases it."

For His Glory,

Ashley Hodge

Wanting More

It starts early. We can see the lack of contentment in our children before they turn 3. My son whom I adore- Hudson- loves trains. I enjoy buying him trains because it brings him so much joy.

But even after I purchase him train after train in the Thomas the Train series at ridiculous prices- $10- $20 per train, the lack of contentment becomes evident.

He watches Thomas videos and says, "I don't have Toby, Diesel10, etc..." My wife- Amy- and I constantly remind him to concentrate on what he has instead of what he does not have. He agrees with us. But then two seconds later it is back to, "I don't have..."

My wife asked me this weekend: what is your biggest fear? I thought about it and it isn't a typical answer: death, public speaking, dying young, etc... My biggest fear is living an unfruitful life.

Jesus tied an unfruitful life to being distracted by the love of possessions. Jesus teaches in Mark 4:1-20 about a sower that sows seed on the ground. He says the sown seed is the Word of God/the Gospel- Mark 4:14.

The seed is placed among many different types of soil. One of the types of soil is thorny ground. Jesus explains, "And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful."- Mark 4:18-19.

This is our problem in this country. We are receiving the Word of God on thorny ground. The battle for more comfort and more things is one that we will likely take with us to the grave. The lure of things is so subtle. But the danger is that it has the capability to create in our hearts a lack of contenment, gratitude and distraction from things that matter.

I preach this word to myself as I am in the process of upgrading my housing needs. A daughter on the way and the daily desire to office from my home has created a "need" for more space. But sometimes, I wonder if I am just providing justification for my desires.

Sometimes these decisions must be made. But it is important to see the thorns in the whole mess. They are there to choke out our commitment to Christ and this is never a good thing. We must weed our garden daily.

For His Glory,

Ashley Hodge

Littering

We all have our pet peeves in life. One of mine is when I see someone litter. I don't claim to be the most efficient steward of the environment. I am trying to improve.

But there is one thing I cannot tolerate: litter. If you think about it, it is one of the most self-absorbed acts out there. The mindset to litter is: "I am the most important person in this world. If I decide to throw my trash out of my car or while walking around it is because I have the right to do it. Someone else will pick it up. But if they don't pick it up it doesn't matter because this world is all about me."

Littering must stem from one of three motives: unabashed laziness, self-absorbtion or ignorance. To me the sin nature of humans speaks loud and clear when they litter. Does it bother you also? I long for a world where God's justice is revealed (after His mercy is displayed towards us). A world where things are put right.

Litter is a constant reminder of the Fall and why we will be disappointed if we view this world under the curse of sin as paradise. A better day and place is coming for those who trust the promise that Christ will return to rule this world in peace and justice. But in the meantime, as Christians we should strive to make this world a more beautiful place. One small way that we can do that is to never litter and to gently correct those who do.

I have to admit that I have been guilty of correcting those who litter but not with gentleness. My wife- Amy- gets on me for my temper when I see someone throw trash out the window. A couple of recent stories:

One day I pulled up behind a car of teenagers at a red light and watched the driver chuck out a fast food back on the street. To his credit, he did go to the trouble of putting all of his trash in the bag instead of scattering it piece by piece. I quickly put my car in park, got out of the car, grabbed the bag and knocked on their window. They rolled it down and I said sarcastically, "You accidentally dropped this." The driver was embarrassed and said, "Thank you" and took the trash back into the car. It felt good. But that outcome could have been less than favorable with the wrong person.

Another incident was a young woman throwing out a host of trash in the neighborhood I live. I decided to follow her for a few blocks laying on the horn the whole way. It is not pretty. I lose all sense of maturity when I see things like this. Hopefully, one of these stories isn't the prelude to my funeral.

Jeremiah 2:7 tells us, "I brought you into a fertile land to eat its fruit and produce. But you came and defiled my land and made my inheritance detestable."

We should always be asking ourselves tough questions with how much we need to consume. And for God's sake: don't litter!

For the Glory of His Creation,

Ashley Hodge

Why I believe Calvinism is true

I am reading through a chapter on God's Providence in Systematic Theology by Wayne Grudem. It has been a reminder to me that what we believe about the sovereignty (control) of God over all things is an important issue to how we view stewardship and life.

I did not come by Calvinism naturally. I was first introduced to the ideas by my father-in-law eight years ago. I became interested in learning about the differences in philosophies between Arminianism and Calvinism. Those who agree with John Calvin's (1509-1564) interpretation of Scripture on the issue of God's sovereignty and human free will are often referred to as Calvinists. Those who agree with Jacobus Arminius (1560-1609) on these issues are called Arminians.

A quick summary of the beliefs of each of these camps:

Calvinism's main points can be remembered by the acronym: TULIP

1. Total depravity: Because of the fall of man, every person is born into the world enslaved by sin. Because we are by nature inclined to serve our own selfish interests, we will not choose God.

2. Unconditional election: God's choice from eternity of those He will bring to Himself is not based on merit or virtue. It is unconditionally centered on God's mercy.

3. Limited atonement: The death of Christ takes away the penalty of sins of those on whom God has chosen to have mercy.

4. Irresistible grace: The saving grace of God is effectually applied to those He has determined to save. His grace can overcome the most stubborn, callous heart.

5. Perseverance of the saints: Any person who has been truly converted to Christ will persevere in the faith. The word saint is used in the sense that people are set apart by God to pursue obedience to Him.

Arminianism's five beliefs are:

1. Free will: The fall of man was not total. Every person has enough good in them to accept Christ as Savior.

2. Conditional election: God's foreknowledge of who would believe and man's act of faith are the conditions that lead to salvation. God foreknew those who would freely choose Him.

3. Universal atonement: Christ died for everyone. God never wills that anyone should die apart from Christ, but each person must exercise their free will in trusting this atonement in order to be saved.

4. Obstructable grace: The Holy Spirit woos people to Christ. God's will to save all men can be frustrated by the will of man. Every person must exercise their own will first and then they can be born again.

5. Falling from grace: People can lose their salvation by choosing to fall away from Christ. Mankind must continually believe in order to be saved.

A few comments are in order. First, I consider this debate to be of secondary importance. There is great mystery in how the sovereignty of God and human free will co-exist. I affirm the idea that God is sovereign and humans are responsible. I believe that most people in both camps would agree with that statement.

I have close friendships with Christians who fall into the Arminian category and I have close friendships who are devout Calvinists. I would never hope to jeopardize those relationships over an issue that at the end of the day, we have to humbly admit that there is mystery and lack of clarity.

I came to the conclusion that Calvinism is the better understanding of God's sovereignty/human free will because of three major factors.

1. The weight of Scripture. Both sides of this debate can point to troubling verses for the other side to explain. But after studying the whole Bible on this issue, I conclude that Calvinism is the easier position to defend. There are too many verses that defend the total and complete sovereignty of God over everything in His creation- including human free will- for me to believe in Arminianism.

2. The weight of church history. The proponents of Calvinism have a larger list of theological heavyweights: Augustine, Luther, Calvin, Jonathan Edwards, JC Ryle, BB Warfield, Spurgeon, George Muller, John Owen to name a few. If you read about these men's lives, you can't help coming away with an awe of their study habits. The fact that they came to Calvinist conclusions was persuasive to me. We always stand on the shoulders of giants when we clarify these issues.

3. The belief that faith in a God who is completely in control over all things is much easier to live with than a God whose purposes can be thwarted by the free choices of humankind. There are some tough issues to work through around why evil exists in defending Calvinism. But I am comfortable with understanding that in the new heavens and earth. God has given us the answer to evil in Christ. But the issues surrounding Arminianism- like the potential for us to fall from grace in heaven; God's inability to control the future; etc... are way too hard for me to accept.

I believe that a complete trust in the sovereignty of God is the basis for stewardship. It is because I believe that God is methodically and wisely unfolding a plan for all of creation to be restored under the rule of Christ that I desire to be the best steward of this life.

For His Glory,

Ashley Hodge