Christian Living
It is heartbreaking, seeing so many poor people throwing away their hard-earned money in a frenzy of gambling, trying to beat the odds in an effort to get rich. Some believers think that it is okay to have a little fling, only a few dollars, and who knows, they may be lucky, and hit the jackpot.
In a previous article I gave six burdens the rich have to bear, and show that some break under those burdens, and others resent the pressures and dread that go hand in hand with riches.
Here I list six more burdens the rich bear, and the wannabe rich should carefully think about.
Burden number 1: Increase wealth brings increase worries.
The more wealth you have, the more worries you will also have for they go hand in hand. Someone once advised that as soon as you acquire your first few millions then stop acquiring more. This is easy to say, but monstrously difficult to do. Many rich people already have more than they can use in many lifetimes, but they still pursue more and sometimes with great passion. They are many rich people on hearing that Bernie Madoff was doing a Ponzi scheme and was broke was quite suicidal and I understand several went for psychiatric counseling. Rich people are worried constantly about the stock market, or the exchange rates, or inflation, or commodity prices, or property prices, or an economic slowdown or any number of things, and we know from numerous studies that worries has sleep and health implications, and can take years off your lifespan.
Burden number 2: Trusting people becomes problematic.
Even if you are not rich knowing whom to trust is a problem, but when you are rich the problem is enormous. This is so because no man is an island and whereas the average person needs a few people around him that is not so when you are rich. The rich live a life of permanent auditioning, or so it seems, for they attract multitudes of actors all masquerading in the part that they think will be most effective in getting them what they want. The family, whom you never knew existed, will contact you and are concerned solely with their needs and their agenda and have no sympathy or concern with your needs and previously never cared if you lived or died, long forgotten friends who through the years never bothered to contact you for whatever reasons now find you indispensable. Many will contact you with hare-brained ideas wrapped up in sophisticated speak, some will want to give you advice and pretend they are independent professionals and then they are the investment brokers, the tax specialist, the fund managers, the property experts and lots of others all wanting to get their hands on your money. The bottom line is that most people coming to you, care nothing about you and all they are interested in is your money and how they can exploit you for their gain. A good rule of thumb here is to trust those whom you trusted before you got rich and never forget those friends who stuck by you when you had nothing or very little.
Burden number 3: Your money may not make you happy.
This is perhaps one of the biggest delusions of those wannabe rich, and it transcends all nationalities and cultures across the universe. People universally see riches and happiness as virtually the same thing and yet nearly everyone who has studied the subject, and many of the rich themselves, will tell you that they are not. Money and wealth are about comfort, meeting needs and wants, gaining influence and power and above all consumerism; nowhere in this package is happiness. A person can scarcely be happy when he knows he cannot really trust those around him, when he knows, given the opportunity, that they will do him in and take his money, when he knows they are saying things just to please him to ingratiate themselves with him, when they might be spying on him, cheating him and generally using him as agenda fodder. Even the process of seeking a partner in life becomes challenging because once you are rich the gold diggers come out of the woodwork and they are experts in charming their way into your finances. Over and above all this the rich and wealthy live on the edge; they live too fast, eat too much, drink too much and are addicted to extremes and as a result ordinary happiness evades them. Depression, drug addiction, insomnia and paranoia are constant companions of the rich and many of them are bitter because they have achieved so much only to find that the most important thing eludes them.
Burden number 4: Your security diminishes.
You are unlikely to go at any rich person's home and not find a plethora of security systems in place. Most rich people's homes are virtual fortresses; security cameras, trip wires, alarm bells, pressure pads, laser beams, security patrols and such like, all geared to keeping them safe and secure. Away from the home the rich travel always with security in mind ever aware that there are so many persons who would want to assault them or take them captive and exhort money. It has been known that the rich's dedicated, personal, security staff have set them up for robbery and extortion. This feeds into my observation as per number 2 above about trusting people. The average person is not targeted for kidnap and extortion, neither are they of interest to the professional criminal or the gangster thug who are after rich pickings. Because the rich are so juicy a target, paranoia can set in, nerves can be easily jangled; they sleep as the saying goes "with one eye opened" and they are ever conscious that something dramatic can occur at any moment. Even if you are only moderately rich and live in a slightly bigger house and drive a better quality car you are still targeted by burglars and car thieves and hence need to resort to checking out houses and car security systems and be on the alert for the occasional mugger.
Burden number 5: Keeping up with the Joneses.
Being rich is not some benign state of isolated existence, but rather one that has lots of dynamics attached; one of which is that you are elevated into a higher economic bracket. It is certain that in this new bracket you will meet and befriend people who are very wealthy; many will be wealthier than you and have been for much longer. You see what they have, where they go, what they wear and you try to keep up so that you may fit in seamlessly. This means that if they have summer mansions in several countries, then you can't be seen to be different, so you go and buy summer houses in other countries as well and that is the pattern for keeping up with the Joneses. In truth this is nothing more than naked pride and common greed for there are many rich people who do not follow this pattern and has no interest in keeping up with the jet-set. It is here that rich folks separate themselves into two distinct groups; one who sees riches and wealth as a supplement to their life and a worthwhile achievement and the other who regards wealth as complementary and defines who they are. The Bible cautions those in the latter group in these words, "Then he said to them, Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions" (Luke 12:15, NIV).
Burden number 6: Time consuming maintenance.
This is one of the burdens that is off the horizon until riches arrive. The middle class man with one house and one car finds maintenance tedious and a drawback. The rich often have many houses with large grounds, yachts, several cars and an array of personal possession at home and abroad and all requiring specialist maintenance. Add to these things like vineyards, castles and chateaus, private jets and the like and looking after these possessions from a maintenance perspective becomes a full time job. Even if the wealth is huge and full time staff are essential to manage the portfolio it is still an enormous burden to supervise the supervisors and have peace of mind that your wealth is being protected and preserved.
It is obviously true that burdens can be lifted, or disposed of, and a measure of relief and freedom substituted. The rich, with few exceptions, would rather cling to their riches and be doomed, rather than seek accommodation with the Almighty, as demonstrated by the rich young ruler as told in Matthew 19:16-22.
The plain truth is, that the rich have the opportunity to use their riches to reach out and assist those less fortunate, show genuine compassion, like the super-rich group of philanthropists is doing; Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, et al, and devote their money constructively to helping the poor and needy.
When you are dead, all the money gone, all property disposed of, all achievements and accomplishments long forgotten, then the only lasting thing of significance that will resound through time will be the immortal words of Jesus Christ, "And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me." (Matthew 25:40)
Enough said.
Books by this author you may wish to read.
THINGS EVERY CHRISTIAN SHOULD KNOW (e-book)
Volume 1 – Five tough facts to be faced
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004YX5NSI
STAND UP TO THE DEVIL (e-book)
Volume 1 – You must first identify him
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005BQVLSS
BASTARD: A STORY OF REDEMPTION(e-book fiction)
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006OF3SD6
ONE MINUTE TO MIDNIGHT ON GOD’S CLOCK (Hard copy)
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002X78D16
ONE MINUTE TO MIDNIGHT ON GOD’S CLOCK (e-book)
http://tatepublishing.com/bookstore/book.php?w=978-1-60799-630-9
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