Monday, August 11, 2008

Rich

When I was growing up, probably like most people, I always wanted to be rich. I wanted a big house with fancy entrance gates, a marble foyer with matching curved staircases on the sides and the most exotic automobiles imaginable. Although I do not remember saying it, my wife once reminded me that when we first started dating (more than 20 years ago!) I told her that I was going to be rich and that I wouldn't let her get in my way.

Well, although I have a nice house and a nice car, there is no entrance gate, no marble foyer, no curved staircase and nothing exotic. I have a great job, working with people that I genuinely like, and in the overall scheme of things it pays very well - though it is not exactly the seven figure income of my dreams.

But, I have come to realize that rich doesn't mean money. As long as I focus on possessions, there is always something newer, something fancier, something better. "Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. This too is meaningless." Ecclesiastes 5:10

While I admit that I still like my "stuff," I recognize that it has nothing to do with being rich. Instead, my wealth is in my incredible family, the love that I share with my friends, the opportunities that I have been given to be in service to the Lord. It is not the picture that I had in my head when I was younger, it is immeasurably better. What I said to my wife those twenty years ago makes no sense, she has never been in my way to getting rich, she has been a huge part of it. This morning I am focused on the fact that I am incredibly rich and I thank God for the blessings that He has poured out on my life.

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