Can you believe it? We have been studying your favorite subject and mine for quite a while. Some have said this subject is the cause of and solution to most of life’s problems. You know what I’m talking about, MONEY. Some of you, maybe most of you have been waiting for these many weeks for me to tell you how to get rich. Have you ever wanted to be rich? Have you ever thought about it? Have you thought about it recently? Come on, be honest. Never have to balance your checkbook again because there would just always be money there (although I would argue that rich people should balance their checkbooks just like the rest of us).
The first ten years after I graduated from college I was a workaholic. I loved the work but I also wanted to be rich. Boy was I naïve. I chose the wrong profession and definitely in the wrong industry. I will not bore you with the details.
During those early years my wife and I “ran” with a crowd that seemed to have everything, new cars, new clothes, new houses, new furniture, vacations, etc. We often wondered where on earth these people got all their money.
Then when we moved to Minneapolis (used to be the most wonderful place in the world) where I worked with/for some people who were very wealthy. The founder of the company (Julius) was a man the Cargill family (you’ve no doubt heard the name Cargill) hired early on to develop and manage their grain marketing and transportation business. He cornered the wheat market when it wasn’t against the law to do so (this is a really long time ago) and was extremely wealthy. He was one of God’s chosen people. Betty was the president of the company and formerly director of research for Peavey. Alan owned a couple travel agencies and had been in charge of Pillsbury’s grain marketing and merchandising most of his life. Dixon was probably the best salesman I have ever known. He had started three companies from scratch and managed them to great success. Jerry had been the CEO of the US Chamber of Commerce. I could go on.
So what’s wrong with being rich. These people we ran with and worked with were all really nice people. It’s kind of fun to think about it and talk about it but what does it really mean to be rich?
I want you to get out your dictionary and look it up and write down what it says.
Rich: a. _______________________________________________________
b. ___________________________________________________
c. ___________________________________________________
d. ___________________________________________________
Or how about some synonyms?
Wealthy: ________________________________________________
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
Affluent: __________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_______________________________________________
Opulent (I’ll bet you didn’t think I knew any big words like that) :
________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
________________________________________________
Now, how much money is it going to take to describe yourself according to one of these definitions? How much money is it going to take in order for you to place yourself in the category called “RICH”? $__________!
Have you ever noticed when you talk to rich Christians, they eventually become a little defensive. They quickly point to the standard of reference we have been using all along. Remember what that is? It’s the BIBLE. Is “rich” biblical? Does the Bible condemn it or condone it? We will look into it next week. See you then.