Wealthy and miserable.
You probably know a few people like this.
You’d like their wealth but you don’t want their misery.
Yes, I know that there are plenty of flat-broke people who are miserable.
But those folk typically don’t have admirers who’d love to trade places with them.
There are many, many people, though, who’d gladly accept — at least initially — misery if it came with a suitcase of cash.
The seeming presumption is that money compensates for the misery.
Yeah, right.
Is that why so many rich people have lips that are pursed even more tightly than their wallets?
Of course, like you, I’d like to have more zeroes after the number in my bank balance. It would be nice to have a mountain cabin and a beachfront villa and a private plane to transport us as desired for two-day getaways.
But I know that’s never gonna happen because I would never spend money that way even if it did come my way.
You see, knowing that I had redirected so much money toward fun rather than faithful ministry would leave me miserable.
And I don’t like feeling miserable.
King Solomon learned a thing or two during his life about being rich and miserable.
“Better to have little, with fear for the Lord, than to have great treasure and inner turmoil.” (Proverbs 15:16 New Living Translation)
The choice between a frugal lifestyle with fear of the Lord OR great treasure with inner turmoil is actually a no-brainer.
With faith in God, I’m already a winner in eternity and I don’t have to worry about how tall and thick the walls of my emotions-protecting financial fortress are.
If I lose every earthly thing but still have faith, I will still be a zillionaire in eternity.
But if gain the entire world’s wealth — or just the $73 billion of the world’s richest man — and don’t have faith, I will still be an indigent pyre of pain in eternity.
Let’s be glad for the blessings we have. Particularly the one called salvation.
It’s priceless and will never lose value.
As always, I love you
Martin
