The Money Page

Let’s start with a round of kumbaya…

Mom and Dad raised me as a nominal Christian back when America was great. And let me tell ya, when America was great? We worked our asses off for pennies. My dad was a teacher, and my parents wanted a pool. Today, people just apply for 14 credit cards and max them all out, and then go bankrupt. But that wasn’t available to the peasants of old. This didn’t sway my parents. They both got second jobs. There wasn’t any question when I grew up: get educated, get a job, work hard, and save a few bucks. 

I became a Christian and discovered the Christian musician Keith Green. He did a few weird things, like renting houses for homeless people to live in, and then he started giving his albums away. For free! Now, this wasn’t a guy busking on the street corner for a few bucks a day. Nope. This guy was out-selling almost all other Christian artists. But at some point, he felt guilty about charging for his music. He wanted people to play his records and see him in concert – I certainly did – but this was a ministry. Not a money machine. He felt horrible charging admission to concerts for the same reason. Like paying to go to church. He bought his contract from his record company and started ‘selling’ albums for ‘whatever you could afford.’ And if you couldn’t afford it, he sent you an album for free.

Friends and enemies all agree: my weakest points might be optimism and naivety, but this ‘pay what you can’ has always appealed to me deeply.

I try to follow Keith’s lead in this…mostly. I sell books on Amazon and send essays and stories off to publishers, who politely send me money. I get a great kick out of publishing essays, and, regarding Amazon, I’m basically lazy and have almost no interest in the business of selling and packing books myself.

But I do things here that I want people to use and enjoy. I get emails daily about how to monetize the site and make loads of money. I must say…it has a certain appeal. I recommend stuff, too, and I AM an Amazon Affiliate. But, I only recommend things I have bought myself and believe them to be useful (though I do use the library for books). Other writers and sites have tiered memberships, and I don’t. I don’t begrudge anyone for selling as they see fit, but many of these efforts to make more and more money smack of things decidedly nonbiblical. To me, anyway. And I’m wildly optimistic and naive.

Be sure, though, that I like money and things. In fact, I am an uber fan of all things Porsche.

I don’t accept advertising either. I’m rebellious enough that I don’t want someone else dictating what I have to do or say. Even for hard cash.

My workaround is that I encourage you to use the donation page. If you find value here, and if you like what I do, and if I help lead you in a direction you want to go, then please drop whatever you would like into the box.

Thanks.