Have you ever wondered why the rich never seem to be satisfied?
When you are poor, you have this motivation:
“I will do my best to earn money so that one day when I’m rich enough, I can rest and enjoy my life.”
Rich enough. Have you ever wondered how rich a person needs to be?
An unemployed person may think that being rich enough is getting a regular job. A regular employee may think of being rich enough as getting that promotion. A high-ranking officer of a company may think that being wealthy means having enough passive income so that he can already retire. A millionaire may think that being truly rich is becoming a billionaire!
As you can see, there seems to be no precise definition of being “rich enough.”
I have seen a lot of seemingly rich people in life who could never think of themselves as such. Perhaps you see them, too. Celebrities or business owners who always seem to work so hard, reaching for that unreachable goal.
When could we ever let it go? How do we ever find rest for our body and soul?
It seems that God has already given us the secret when Jesus said:
“But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” – Matthew 6:33 (NRSVCE)
That is the truth that has been revealed to us. However, what we’re doing may be the exact opposite of that.
We think that we first need to search for “all the other things” before we can have time to search for God’s kingdom.
Unfortunately, if we do that, we may never have the time.
Here is a good food for thought from Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange’s “The Three Ways of the Spiritual Life”
“As though in the hope of compensating for the poor quality of earthly goods, men are striving to increase their quantity; they are trying to produce as much as possible in the order of material enjoyment. They are constructing machinery with the object of increasing production at a greater profit. This is the ultimate objective. But what is the consequence? The surplus cannot be disposed of; it is wasted, and unemployment is the result. The worker starves in enforced idleness while others die of surfeit. The present state of the world is called a crisis. But in fact it is more than a crisis; it is a condition of affairs which, if men only had eyes to see, ought to be revealing, it ought to show men that they have sought their last end where it is not to be found, in earthly enjoyment — instead of God.”
If we seek material things first, we will never be satisfied. This is a truth. Because only God can satisfy the thirst of the human heart.
Money will always be scarce. We’re so afraid to lose it but we can never be rich enough once we have it. On the other hand, the love of God is bountiful and makes every believer rich.
“Give money away, or spend it, and it is no longer yours. But give God to others, and you possess Him more fully for yourself.” – Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange (The Three Ways of the Spiritual Life)
God knows that we do have a need for material things, but He also knows that our need for Him is deeper. Only by finding God can we find our rest. Only by loving Him can our riches be true riches that no one can ever take away from us!
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” – Matthew 6:19-21 (NRSVCE)
“You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.” – St. Augustine
Jocelyn Soriano is the author of 366 Days of Compassion. You may want to start your day by reading this devotional book to inspire you and lead you to prayer.
Where is God? God is with us, but we often do not know where to look and so we do not see. God is there, pursuing us, waiting for us to take the time to call on Him in our helplessness, in the routine of our daily lives. He is the one who will fill our lives with meaning and our hearts with hope and love.
See Jocelyn’s books from other digital stores.
You may also want to read “Can Poor People Still Be Happy?”
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