Meet the man who quit money

Do you worry about money?

As a society we often worry about money. Will I have enough superannuation to fund retirement? Will I have enough to buy a property? Will I have enough to live on and enjoy life a little?

Even the super rich worry about money. According to Brad Church, chief executive at Goodman Private Wealth advisors, people with tens of millions are stressed. He says "People find things to worry about. People with money still worry about their money.’ "Once you've got it you're worrying about keeping it and whether it will last you a lifetime and what will happen to the kids when they get it."

We worry when an outcome is uncertain and out of our hands. We specifically worry about money because money and possessions aren’t secure. The Global Financial Crisis demonstrated that! Any financial advisor will tell you that no investment is 100% secure.

We worry about money because without it we think life will be too difficult. We believe that money provides security, freedom and enjoyment. Hence when we don’t have enough, we think we’ll be insecure and enslaved. So we worry.

What would it take to stop worrying about money altogether? Could you even do something so radical as to live without money altogether?

Living without money

Well, there is a man in the USA, Daniel Suelo who did just that - he quit money.

Daniel lives entirely without money and has done so for the past 14 years. In 2000, he put his entire life savings in a phone booth, walked away, and has lived moneyless ever since. I stumbled across his astonishing story here.

He mostly lives in the caves and wilderness of Utah where he eats wild vegetation, scavenges roadkill, pulls food from dumpsters, and is sometimes fed by friends and strangers. He has been sick only three times and does not take food stamps or government handouts.

He is not a Christian believer, but he implicitly trusts God for his provision. Suelo says that,

Worry is simply lack of faith, faith that everything we need is in the here and now. Faith is … trusting that everything we need comes as we need it.

Jesus also said ‘do not worry’

When I heard of Seulo’s story I was reminded of something Jesus once told his followers,

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest? (Luke 12:22-26)

Jesus is saying to trust in God who provides. When someone you trust is looking after you, you don’t worry. How do you feel when you have a competent person working on a project? Why do people feel more confident flying Qantas than Tiger?

It’s all about trusting the person responsible.

Jesus says not to worry about what we eat and wear but instead to trust in God just like the ravens! Remember that ravens are very imprudent, they don’t have superannuation or savings, yet God feeds them.

So like the ravens, Seulo lives dependent on God. He doesn’t claim to be self sufficient. He implicitly trusts God.

Now we might not give up money completely like Seulo (I'm not sure your family would appreciate 'dumpster' for dinner tonight). But Jesus' teaching and Daniel Seulo's example challenge us is to stop worrying about things that are uncertain (like money) and instead to trust in the God who richly provides.

Image courtesy of Natara at FreeDigitalPhotos.net