Warren Buffet's theology lesson

Jack Welch, former chairman and CEO of General Electric, wrote a book on management with the catching title ‘Winning’, described in the synopsis as « destined to become the bible of business for generations to come. » It received rave reviews from business greats including Bill Gates and Warren Buffet. Indeed Warren Buffet’s comment is on the front cover of the book. It says « No other management book will ever be needed ». Such a comment had it not been made by Buffet, would have been thought prodigiously silly, for it implies a claim to infinite and exhaustive knowledge that can hardly be attributed to any human, even the distinguished Mr Welch.

But perhaps Warren Buffet has been reading the real Bible. That is precisely the astounding claim made about Christ when He burst onto the human scene two thousand odd years ago. Picture His astonished hearers when He said ‘If you have seen me, you have seen the Father’ and ‘I and the Father are one’. He claimed to be finished, exhaustive and infinite revelation of God. It says that God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him. It is an extraordinary thought. The Scriptures present Jesus as the book on God on which is emblazoned in bold type ‘No other book on God will ever be needed’.

That indeed is the reason Christians make such a big deal about Jesus, because He is a big deal, not because we are sectarian, we hate every one else, or just like to be right. We really believe He is the final Word on God. And the question that non followers of Christ ought to pose is ‘Who truly is Jesus?’ rather than continually trying to bludgeon Christians into adopting their own worldview. Indeed the Jewish leaders of His time understood His proposition, they said He was claiming equality with God, which He was. They knew in essence that the commentary on His life was ‘No other book on God will ever be needed’. They hated Him for it and took His life.

He proved them wrong and came back. Then His apostles finally got it too. And that is why Peter got up to say with great alacrity on the day of Pentecost that ‘this Jesus whom you crucified God has made Him Lord and King’. And even more people got it. Then John, with awe and one can imagine great delight wrote ‘in the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us’ . In essence no other book on God will ever be needed.

Warren Buffet kept his head.