Worldly wealth is the Devil’s bait; and those whose minds feed upon riches recede, in general, from real happiness, in proportion as their stores increase, as the moon, when she is fullest, is farthest from the sun. – ROBERT BURTON
OVER THE YEARS I have spoken with, read of and observed very rich men and women, some of whom were very humble and did not allow their wealth to define them. On the other hand I have seen others who acted as though their accumulated fortunes were the universal cure for all their earthly and heavenly needs.
After more than 60 years on this earth, I have become keenly aware that amassed wealth and inner heart poverty can sometimes go hand in glove. Someone once said “Some people are so poor, all they have is money.” Well put.
Today I will highlight the story of a man who to my mind fits into the category of individuals I am calling “rich paupers”. Though extremely rich he could be classified as very poor morally, mentally, socially, spiritually and otherwise. Such poverty reflected itself in how he functioned as a person, a partner and a parent.
This man was a business executive who had purchased a government franchise in a well-known Eastern country and lived off that lucrative business for years. He milked the inhabitants of that nation over a long period of time by charging them way above what was required for the services rendered. By his own public confession, he had developed a love for money which seemed to have consumed his time, energy, and his whole life. He lived for money. It had become his god. It had become his “married partner”. It had become his constant companion.
In the first instance, I saw this well-known public figure using his position of authority to take advantage of the poor and defenceless who were too weak to fight back. Legal tender had become his obsession and he used it to fill his pocket at the expense of his fellow man. What a rich pauper.
The second malady that affected this prominent man in society was his level of education, which allowed him to accumulate wealth but he remained a pauper. Though rich in formal education, the poverty in his life mirrored itself in the great difficulty he had in erasing greed and covetousness from his heart. His brain was full of knowledge from the many books he studied and good grades he may have accumulated, but rather than using his acquired information to help others, he sought ways and means of quashing the vulnerable members of society.
The third deficit I observed was evident in the social life of this high-ranking wealthy figure. He appeared to have been a very lonely man. He interfaced with people who were in the same business but seemed to have avoided mixing with the common man. For the most part he was a loner. Even in his family life there appears to have been some hidden issues which were eventually brought in full view of the society in which he resided.
Spiritually, his eyes were eventually opened to the fact that life does not consist of the abundance of things a person possesses. He recognised that his riches could buy him items, but not integrity; wine, but not wisdom; land but not love; house, but not a home; cars, but not character; worldly pleasure, but not wonderful peace; earthly security, but not eternal salvation. Sociologist Professor Dr Johan Galtung’s words seem so relevant to what may have been going on in this man’s life: “The topdog may win the game of force. But not the moral issue – and when that dawns upon him and his allies, change of consciousness sets in, and demoralisation starts thawing the frozen heart. The game is over.”
This rich pauper eventually humbled himself and sought help for the contradictions that were very obvious in his life. He turned to the source of real riches, Jesus Christ. His mental, social, emotional, moral and spiritual life took a turn for the better. Dr Luke records this story in the Gospel of St Luke Chapter 19 verses 2 to 10 of the Holy Bible.
I believe David Wilkerson summed up rich paupers beautifully when he said: “Riches and the things that are necessary in life are not evil in themselves. And all of us face cares and troubles in this life.
The sin comes in the time and energy we spend in pursuing these things, at the expense of neglecting Christ.”
Have you ever wondered what the world would be like if there were no rich paupers?
• Haynesley Griffith is a marriage and family life consultant. Email:griffitharticles@gmail.com