A Word to the Wealthy
When Robert Edmiston lost his job in the early 1970s, he used the money he received in severance pay to start International Motors. Edmiston went on to become one of the wealthiest business owners in the UK and one of the country’s most generous philanthropists. As a believer in Jesus, he felt compelled to use his wealth to start religious and educational charities that to this day bring hope to people around the world. With offices in Europe, Africa, North America, Latin America, and Asia Pacific, Robert Edmiston has donated hundreds of millions of dollars since 1988.
the good life
On the occasion of billionaire Ted Turner’s 75th birthday last year, a CNN profile opened with these poignant words: “What will matter most about Ted Turner’s life story when they roll the final credits? That he started the first 24-hour news network? Built a fortune once worth $10 billion? Was Time magazine’s Man of the Year? Received a star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame? Made The New York Times best-seller list? Maybe it was that time he raced a sailboat faster than anyone else. Or the year his baseball team won the World Series. Impressed yet?”
time and eternity
I’ve always wanted to learn how to play the cello. But I haven’t found the time to take lessons. Since time is short, I would rather spend my time doing the things that I won’t get to do in heaven—stuff like helping a believer to mature in his or her faith or reaching out to someone who doesn’t believe in Jesus. I say to myself, In heaven, I’ll have the whole of eternity to master that instrument!
watch out!
C. S. Lewis wrote in Mere Christianity, “There is one vice of which no man in the world is free; which every one in the world loathes when he sees it in someone else; . . . There is no fault which makes a man more unpopular, and no fault which we are more unconscious of in ourselves. And the more we have it in ourselves the more we dislike it in others.” Can you guess what it is?
three wishes
If you were granted three wishes, for what would you wish? Would you wish for the eradication of global poverty? Would you wish for financial security? Would you wish for good looks, good health, and long life? The question itself isn’t as important as how we answer the question; for our answers reveal our character and what’s important to us.
worn out by money
The Internet is crawling with get-rich-quick schemes—ads that promise loads of cash with little effort and/or skills required. Simply apply the special techniques offered in their training material, and it won’t be long before you’re independently wealthy—or so they say. And you can do it all from the comfort and convenience of your home! Hmm . . .
fast cash
About 30 miles outside of Washington, DC, Heather Kelly noticed what looked like “a snow globe of cash” on Interstate Highway 270. An armored truck had failed to secure its rear door, and the money was airborne. Roughly 30 cars lined the highway as motorists pulled over and tried to grab the $5,700 in bills that had escaped the truck. Kelly recalled, “People had fists full of money, fists full of dollars.”
invisible hand of God
While her mother-in-law was out of town, my friend was given the keys to her luxurious car. Later, my friend said to me, “The leather seat seems to be made just for your body shape. And the car cruises silently along the highway. Wow, such luxury is intoxicating.”
quitting time
Sorting through some old papers, I found a yellowed pay-stub that showed I had worked 100 hours in the span of 7 days. It’s crazy—I know, since there are only 168 hours in a week. As I fingered the faded document, I tried to recall the project that had required so much of my time many years ago. I looked…
envy
A student was praising one of my colleagues, and I was glad to hear it. This student had been critical of the professor, so I was pleased that she now saw what I already knew. But when she said that the professor’s class was her favorite, I felt a twinge of sadness. Why not mine? I had cheered for my…
elusive and illusive
Solomon laid out the yardsticks of success in ancient Jewish society: wealth, honor, possessions, a very large family, and a very long life (Ecclesiastes 6:2-3). Today, a large family and long life would be deemed by some as more of a burden and trouble than success. But wealth, possessions, and honor are definitely contemporary yardsticks of success.
Even as you…
poor or rich?
For the last several years, home prices have plummeted in different countries around the world. Russian billionaire Yuri Milner (who made much of his money investing in Groupon and Facebook), however, recently paid the highest price on record for any family home. Milner plopped down $100 million for a 25,500 square foot home in California’s Silicon Valley. The home boasts…
the wealthy poor
My close friends Rob and Christi Gebhart and their three young children spent 6 weeks at my home in Uganda this past year. Christi blogged that she and Rob were most moved by the poignant observations their sons made of the Ugandan people.
“Early on,” Christi wrote, “Tyler observed how strange it was that the people with so little could…
money and happiness
How much money does one need to be happy? According to a study from Princeton University, it’s $75,000 (US dollars) a year. The study claims that the lower a person’s annual income falls below that benchmark, the unhappier he or she will be.
At a recent trip to a rural district in Thailand, however, I saw a lady peddling snacks…
you choose Q: "why does God choose some to be rich and some to be poor?"
Q: Why has God decided to make some people so rich and prosperous and others poor and not prosperous? —nkeh
A: The Bible makes it clear that possession of wealth involves responsibility, including a responsibility to be compassionate to the poor. But the Bible doesn’t say that all Christians should sell everything they have and give the proceeds to the poor.…
