Everybody wants to be a millionaire. We think that all our problems will disappear if we just had plenty of money. There aren’t too many millionaires who got their money by winning the lottery or just stumbling into it but you could possibly inherit it. Who wants to be a millionaire? Not me. Making that much money comes at a price, usually with no personal life or family time. To be honest, many of us will make a million dollars in our lifetimes, so what will we do with all that money?
When we meet our maker, I’m pretty sure we account for all the money we’ve made and spent on ourselves during our lifetime and how much we gave away. I Timothy 6:10 in the Bible says, “the love of money is the root of all evil.”
A Stark Contrast
I attended a wedding a few years ago in Jamaica. It was a dream destination wedding and boy, was it beautiful! As I got off the plane and onto the bus headed to the resort, I got an eye opener.
There are two scenes as we drive down the highway: On my left are all the resorts, the money, luxury, beautiful properties next to the ocean. A stark contrast is on my right: poverty, trash piles, run down vehicles and homes with no windows. Not just a short stretch, it went for miles. What a view! It was sad, to say the least. It put things in the right perspective for me about wealth and poverty. Somehow I felt just by being there that I was contributing to the problem.
On the Left
I wondered if the the people living on the poverty side of the street resented the people on the resort side. Did any of them work on the luxury side of the street? Did they see their lack as something to be ashamed of? Then I wondered if any of the people staying at the resorts paid much attention to the poverty across the road. Were the people staying at the resort good tippers? People who live in abundance sometimes take what they have for granted and can are frivolous. I would think people in need would tend to appreciate what they have a little more.
On the Right
I noticed that people working at the resort seemed to be cheerier, happier and more content than those they served at the resort. The staff seemed less stressed and so willing to serve. They didn’t seem to be overworked. Did the staff see greed and ungratefulness at the resort? Or were they grateful for the generosity of the patrons? Are people in poverty content to live in their poverty, knowing and trusting that their basic needs will be met? These are all good questions.
You can have all the money in the world and still not be happy because happiness isn’t tied to money and luxury. Happiness is tied to relationships and the state of your heart. It is tied to love: for God and others. God is love.
We can all learn to be content in our circumstances but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t dream big. And it’s ok to want to be a millionaire if you dream about how you can help others along your journey, but don’t get caught up in the dream of luxury because luxury doesn’t bring happiness, joy or fulfillment.
Being Content
We all want to make sure we have the resources to provide for and take care of our families, but who knows what God has in store for us? Maybe He has a lesson for our children to learn in providing for others or maybe they need to learn to live within their means and to give selflessly to others. Let us all learn to be content in our circumstances. Who wants to be a millionaire?
Action Steps
It’s Lent and it’s a good time to be challenged to give up something. How can you be challenged over the next few weeks to give up some of your wealth to help others in need? Be creative. Come up with a plan. You don’t have to go to Jamaica. It could be there is poverty right across your street.
Journal it. Schedule it in your calendar. Make it happen and let me know what you come up with. God bless. I appreciate you.–Barb
