What God really wants… Luxury watches for pastors

He’s already apologized, so this is now a non-story.

 

I would walk out and not come back.

 

The problem with stories like this is people will judge the man on this one snippet, not knowing anything about how he has been overall. Then some will take that judgement and extrapolate it to all pastors.

I do not like pastors getting rich off their followers, like that guy who was robbed of $1 million in jewelry. Looking at the picture of this guy’s church, however, it doesn’t look like a megachurch.

 

How else can you tell time in your jet.

 

Designer smart phone.


Duh.

 

This clearly wasn’t one sermon. He prod and pushed for the money to buy his watch.
This is not a pastor. He isn’t caring for his flock, he is caring for himself. Too many today see “preaching” as an easy way to get rich. Be charismatic, know a little scripture, get some sermons form the web, etc.. and take in the profits.
Jesus was dirt poor
Paul was dirt poor
Steven was poor
On and on
And those in the NT that had money shared it with the pot, they didn’t ask the poor to give them
More.
This is not a pastor, reverend, preacher, whatever. He is a charlatan.

 

I think it's accurate to say that he revealed who he really is when he originally requested that his parishioners buy the watch for him and that his apology is a rather feeble attempt to limit the damage.

For some reason when I read about pastors like him the HBO show, the Righteous Gemstones always comes to mind.

 

I have an expensive watch. Bought it with my own money many years ago. Lately, I’ve been reaching more for my Casio Pathfinder instead of the Rolex if I’m being honest.

 

If someone were to meet me cold, they would likely assume I was flat broke. I drive an old beat up car, no jewelry, no expensive clothes, I don't spend on almost anything. The people that flaunt wealth aren’t usually the ones who have it.
I get the idea of wanting to look nice, project a certain image etc. but even if I had a billion in the bank I don’t think I could spend five or 10k on a watch. Just was never the way I was wired. Not a criticism of you, it’s your money to spend. Was more thinking in terms of this preacher. Like, of all the things you need, you need a nice watch? Not money for your kid’s college, getting your mortgage paid off, paying off your car etc. you need a watch? Dude will be broke as soon as this gig blows up.

 

Watch was a gift to myself for achieving a certain professional milestone. I am similarly not flashy. I do drive an older Porsche 911, but it’s not a particularly expensive one. People assume I paid a lot for it, but that’s their assumption and not reality. Overall, I don’t spend a lot. Half of my wardrobe is from Walmart, HM, or similar discount places.

If I had a billion dollars, I would definitely have nicer things than I have now, though. While I respect frugality, I think at times its merits are overrated. Why would a billionaire be concerned about spending $5-10k on a watch? That’s a pittance to them. Extravagance is relative.

 

I find a difference between spending on quality and on expensive.
If I’m buying something that is quality and has meaning or purpose for me… I will spend money. I will not spend money on something just because it’s a name brand, is flashy, a show of power or wealth.
I have an old Ball watch. Why? Because my grandfather worked for a railroad way back in the day .He always had a Ball in his wrist or pocket. It means something to me. It’s a connection.
I wear my garmin instinct or Casio pathfinder way more though.

 

Funny. I drive an old car inexpensive car and a guy working at a drive thru mentioned how heavy and thick my Amex card is and that I must have lots of money (I don’t). I responded that if I had lots of money, I wouldn’t be driving that car. He then said something like maybe I was just trying to keep a low profile. It’s interesting how peoples’ perceptions about money work lol.

 

I don’t care to dress up. I’m heading off to my 50th HS reunion this Saturday and not liking having to wear long pants and shoes rather than shorts and sandals. My wife hates that I wear T shirts with holes in them. I hate jewelry of any kind and wear none. I drive a 2015 Rogue. Only own one car. If it’s up to me I’ll own it for a long time just like my Camry and truck that I had for over 14 years. I’m not into fashion and would wear socks with my Teva sandals if my wife would let me. She drew the line at the socks. Lol

 

On the Rolex, I don’t wear a watch, but if I did, spending 100 times more than I needed to for something that worked fine would not be my thing. Again, to each their own on that, that’s just me. Value and utility mean more to me than cost even as my savings get up into respectable neighborhoods. I will splurge on a vacation because that has great value to me, but still ardently coupon or sale shop at the grocery store. I plunked a large downpayment down on my new construction house and didn’t blink because it was nice and in an area set to go up in value, but largely stopped buying sparkling ice drinks when they went from .99 cents to 1.40 because they were no longer worth the money. Just who I am I guess.

As for billionaires, I agree he’s not the norm, but true story - Warren Buffett took Bill and Melinda Gates out for lunch once. He took them to a fast food place, and took coupons out of his wallet to lower the cost. He lives in the same house he bought in 1958, he won’t buy a new car until his current one is run into the ground. His family usually has to prod him to get a new one.
Some folks are just wired to save much more than spend. And that is where their happiness comes. Me included.

 

I clipped a pole in the parking garage at work a few years ago. So on the right side of my car there is this large deep scratch. I couldn’t justify to myself spending 1500 or 2k to fix something on a car that was maybe worth 6k at the time and didn’t want to jack my insurance rates, so I never did. I usually forget it’s even there, but every once in a while, I will see a driver to my right just staring at it like “what a poor loser”. Lol. Happened yesterday actually.

 

While a Rolex is more expensive than a typical watch, the typical one is not extravagantly so, and many (including the model I own) are considered tool watches. I appreciate the engineering and philosophy of the product. As i already stated, I am not a big spender. There are a few things I might splurge on, but mostly, I am conservative. I admire Warren Buffet for not being extravagant, but I think it’s ridiculous that he took Bill Gates to a fast food restaurant and used coupons. There’s being smart with money and there’s being unnecessarily cheap. There are a lot of billionaires out there who live fulfilling lives, have no chance of going broke, yet also enjoy the finer things in life. I’d much rather live that than live like Warren Buffet.

 

I mean, who isnt wearing a smart watch these days anyway?

Expensive watches seem like a very dated status symbol.