Only What You Came In With

Have you ever stopped to think what kind of thoughts you would have should you step off a curb into a puddle of water and feel the bottom of your sock become saturated, because of a hole in the sole of your shoe?  It might be somewhat hard on the ego or self-worth if this were to happen, especially if these were the only pair you owned.

Circumstances, at that moment, could create a bleak feeling for you, but to someone else, a feeling of extreme despair, depending on their state of mind at the time it occurred.  Although, a person might be thankful there wasn’t a hole in the other shoe.  Personality certainly enters into the scenario. 

Think about it…if you had the money in your hip pocket to buy another pair of shoes, your encounter with the puddle would serve only as a reminder that you needed to do just that.  It’s the frame of mind that emotions draw from that affects a person in any situation that happens.

If financial pressures dictate whether or not there is a need to tighten one’s belt or purse strings on spending, this may indeed add negative connotations that bring regrets and bad feelings.  On the other hand, if a person knows that they can purchase a new pair of shoes anytime they wish, the negative response of a saturated sock would most likely be nonexistent.  It’s all in the mind as to how circumstances are perceived.

I heard it said, “The rich get richer and the poor get poorer.”  In monetary jargon this may be a true statement in some cases, but whether it is true or false; riches do not and will not dictate happiness. 

I have seen people that were very wealthy, yet lacked contentment in every day living—always looking for peace.  I have also seen individuals with houses and land, and enough money to buy whatever they wanted, yet walked in harmony with God and people around them.  What makes the difference?

I believe fulfillment is dependent upon where riches are positioned in life—this really matters in the scheme of things.  Riches can easily dictate emotional attachment and dependency and what it can buy.  Lasting happiness, not just a seasonal high, depends on where a person’s confidence and trust lay—God or mammon.

(1 Timothy 6:9-10), “But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.”  vs.10 “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” 

It is easy to allow money to become one’s god.  The love of it is the core of disillusionment.  It is the state of mind from which our thought process originates.  We must line up our thinking with God’s Word and not let our mind dictate wrong thoughts concerning money.  I would much prefer to be free to enjoy life rather than being bound by wrong thinking regarding money. 

People that position life to revolve around wealth, rather than money being a part of living life that revolves around God and the things of God, are most miserable.  The Holy Spirit helps us to control our state of mind, which makes the difference. 

Though we may not be as fortunate as some to have a large bank account; we can enjoy life at its fullest, because our dependency is in God, not money.  And, people with money can also enjoy an abundant life as long as money does not become their god.

(Matthew 6:24), “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other.  You cannot serve God and mammon.”

(Matthew 6:21), “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” 

The difference between the person with plenty that found happiness in living, and the person with plenty that has unrest as a bed partner; the latter has made money their god.  Everything about them revolves around that god, where-as, the individual that is content and happy refuse to view money as their source of happiness. 

Yes, money does beget money, but it can become a curse or a blessing to those that possess it, depending upon where they look for true happiness.  The person that hoards money can never accumulate enough to satisfy their obsession and greed.  They are always striving for more.  A wealthy man was asked, “Now that you have amassed all of this money, what is it that you really want in life?”  His response was, “A little more money.” 

This self indulgent, self centered person will go to his grave a miserable popper, even though he is wealthy.  He failed to recognize that in his quest for power and riches he should have given away from himself.  Instead, he heaped to himself mere money.  He could have possessed the satisfaction of knowing that he blessed others in need, and not just himself.

To be rich in friends surpasses owning a vault full of money and having no friends.  We can ask ourselves these questions:  Who is the richer, those with money, or those with friends?  When I come to the end of life’s journey, what will people say about the legacy I left behind?  Was I a friend to them or a stranger? 

Money cannot buy true friendship, nor will it make you into the person that people can depend on.  Riches won’t make you a person of integrity with moral values, nor will it give you a sense of compassion and empathy for others.  Wealth won’t even make you a pure and just person; only a lonely individual with money. 

I am not saying that all people with money are self centered and self absorbed.  I am saying that all of the effort put into investing and reinvesting; moving money to bring higher yields; or simply keeping track of it all; becomes a full time affair and leaves little time to enjoy life as it were meant to be enjoyed. 

Failing to recognize the hold that money can have on us steals peace of mind and relaxation.  To experience the delight and joy of just hanging out with family and friends can be far and in-between, because of money worries. 

After one barn is filled to capacity, another one is erected and efforts to fill that one begin.  The embrace of money, and seeking more and then a little more becomes an endless cycle; ventures that take time away from others. 

Rest finally comes when this individual is laying on his or her deathbed.  It is then that realization hits them, but it’s too late then to change in the closing hours of life.  As they look into the eyes of those that may be standing around the bed, reality speaks loudly these words, “Time passed you by; there is no time left to enjoy.  A great price has been paid and the dividends were not worth the time spent.  Nothing leaves this world with you, only what you came in with.”

Written by,

Papa Boyd