God, Money, and the Movie "Dead Presidents"

GOD, MONEY, AND THE MOVIE "DEAD PRESIDENTS"

a talk at Dorman Hall, Georgia Southern University, 25 Feb 02

A friend of mine and his wife are multimillionaires. The weekend before Valentine's Day he called me. "I have never hurt more in all my life," he moaned. His wife had decided to divorce him, but he loved her. He was miserable. I told my wife "Another example where money doesn't buy happiness." The classic example of this truism is the story of the super rich and famous Prince Charles and his late ex-wife Princess Diana. What a tragedy!

This is Black History Month and the movie you are going to see, "Dead Presidents," is about a fictional black man named Anthony Curtis, played by Larenz Tate, who has chances in life, but his desire for money ruins him. For me it was a depressing movie to watch. Anthony ends up hurting those close to him, shames his family, and disgraces the military, especially the Marines. It reminded me somewhat of an old Humphrey Bogart movie, "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre," wherein the gold dust the men have been fighting and killing for, blows away in a sandstorm.

"Dead Presidents" is a depressing story for several reasons. One is because there is no God and no hope in the film. The preacher in the movie is a mess, holy on the outside and hollow on the inside. He is a shallow stereotype that reflects Hollywood's low opinion of religion. By contrast, "Sex, Power and Money" by Deion Sanders is a true story by a black man, with God, hope, and a good preacher in it. Deion has the money that Anthony wants, and more - but none of it brought happiness. Deion actually tries to kill himself at the height of fame and fortune. He drove his black Mercedes over a cliff. Real peace did not come until Deion came to know God through Jesus. [Click here for a review of his book.] It is a uplifting story.

In "Dead Presidents," Anthony mostly cares for himself. He does seem to want to take care of his woman and child, but goes about it wrongly. If he had married her while he was in the Marines, then the military would have taken care of her and his child. This is all the more important in case he would have been killed or badly injured. Another option is that he could have stayed in the service, as a lot of blacks did after the Vietnam War. He was a Marine sergeant, an E-5, which pays well and has responsibilities. When things got bad, Anthony could have reenlisted, married his woman, and thus provided for her. Finally, he could have used his G.I. Bill to get a free college education, but he didn't do that, either. He makes bad decisions all through the movie.

Early in "Dead Presidents," Anthony is a member of the Marine Special Forces, called "Force Recon." They fight in Hollywood's stereotype of the Vietnam War. A lot of them get killed in "R" rated, bloody, combat operations - the last one in an ambush. My son was a Navy Medic in Force Recon and was in an ambush during the Gulf War. When the war started, Sadaam Hussein had the fourth largest army in the world and it was battle-tested in its recent war with Iran. The U.S. had lost its last war earlier in Vietnam. Sadaam promised it would be "The mother of all battles." Because it looked like it would be a bloody war, people in the U.S. turned to God, just like after 9/11. Folks were especially praying for my son - many folks. It appears that those prayers delivered my son and his platoon from Iraqis who were pretending to surrender one night, and opened fire instead. [Click here for the whole story.]

Anthony didn't use his GI Bill for education, but I did. I was in the Air Force during Vietnam. When it came time for me to get out, I sought God's guidance on what to do. I had an engineering degree and experience in the aerospace industry. I had worked my way through college and now I was finally in a position to make good money. Instead God's guidance was for me to be a University teacher. So I used my G.I. Bill to get a Ph.D. I am not making as much money as I could have, but I am blessed because I'm doing what God wants.

Although I do not have a lot of money, in other ways, I have a lot. Besides God, I have the love of my wife, a fine woman. Money can buy sex, but not love. I have good health, which money can't buy. Money can buy doctors and medicine, but not health. Money will not keep any of us from the grave. I am ready to go to be with God if that is what He wants. Are you? [Click here for the story of how I came to God.]

In summary, Deion Sanders, my son, and myself are true stories of good lives with God. By contrast, "Dead Presidents" is a fictional Hollywood story of a depressing life without God.

THOUGHTS ON MONEY

(This was the handout at the dorm talk)

"You shall have no other gods before me."

God, Exodus 20:3

"Money never made a man happy yet, nor will it. There is nothing in its nature to produce happiness. The more a man has, the more he wants. Instead of its filling a vacuum, it makes one. If it satisfies one want, it doubles and trebles that want another way. That was a true proverb of the wise man, rely upon it; `Better is little with the fear of the Lord, than great treasure, and trouble therewith."

Benjamin Franklin

"A billion here, a billion there, pretty soon it adds up to real money."

Senator Everett Dirksen (1896-1969)

"For the love of money is at the root of all kinds of evil."

Apostle Paul, 1 Tim. 6:10

"He that is of the opinion money will do everything may well be suspected of doing everything for money."

Benjamin Franklin

"Money often costs too much."

Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Dishonest money dwindles away, but he who gathers money little by little makes it grow."

David, Proverbs 13:11

"Remember that time is money."

Benjamin Franklin

"Money is one of the least trustworthy and most deceptive elements of human existence. It is an unpredictable and wildly vacillating guide to value."

Samuel A. Meier

"If you love money, you will never be satisfied; if you long to be rich, you will never get all you want. It is useless."

Solomon, Ecc. 5:10

"The entire essence of America is the hope to first make money - then make money with money - then make lots of money with lots of money."

Paul Erdman

"Money is the barometer of a society's virtue."

Ayn Rand

"The real measure of your wealth is how much you'd be worth if you lost all your money."

Anonymous

"Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said:

Never will I leave you;

Never will I forsake you."

Paul, Hebrews 13:4

"If something's worth doing it's worth doing for money."

Gordon Gekko in Wall Street (1987)

"If you can count your money, you don't have a billion dollars."

J. Paul Getty

"It's not a question of enough, pal. It's a zero sum game, somebody wins, somebody loses. Money itself isn't lost or made, it's simply transferred from one perception to another."

Gordon Gekko in Wall Street (1987)

"People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction."

Paul, 1 Tim. 6:9

"So many checks, so little money."

Anonymous

"The main thing about money, Bud, is that it makes you do things you don't want to do."

Lou in Wall Street (1987)

"No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will hold to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money [riches]."

Jesus, Matt. 6:24