How long is forever?
Begin now to prepare.
Make sure all your endeavors
Don’t holy goals impair.
Each day must draw you closer
To destiny’s writ scroll.
Another dawn may not be sure –
The funeral bells may toll.
No one knows the answer
To when life’s course will end.
Few or many moments –
How goes the time you spend?
Will all your riches bring you
True happiness and joy?
Or do you need to look within
And search for something more?
All I have to offer
Are these poor rags,
My poor attempts
To “be somebody”.
All You ever wanted
Was for me to be happy
Just for being alive,
For being created by You.
Redemption has transformed
My rags into riches.
My thread is woven
Into the beautiful tapestry
Of Your creation.
Still, I sigh and moan
While on this earth.
But all will be well.
[Written while watching the movie “Waste Land”, about people who pick through garbage to get recyclable materials, in Rio de Janeiro]
You are loved
in Jesus’ name.
It’s not your riches,
nor any fame.
Not what you did,
or didn’t do,
What things you own,
or your great school.
It’s not how many
friends you have —
No boyfriend, girlfriend?
don’t be sad.
Lift up your head,
Because you’re loved.
clarakatalin 
The Snare of Riches
‘And Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly, I say to you, it will be hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.”‘ (Luke 19:23)
We are sorely mistaken if we think that riches will bring us happiness. Material goods, to a point, are certainly a blessing. It is good to have nutritious food, clothes to keep you comfortable in any weather, and shelter from that same weather. Beyond that, I’m proposing here that unearned and/or unshared wealth can be a real hindrance to happiness, if it takes the place of our relationship to God.
Certainly a high position in society does not guarantee healthy or moral behavior, not to mention that all your foibles and flaws will be mercilessly criticized by the public. There are some crazy stories, going back some generations, from my own family background, that cause one to ponder.
Here are a few, half heard, half remembered (and thus probably half accurate), from my background: One relative with a high position in the (non-U.S.) government, contracted syphilis and went mad. He was in the military and presumably, while married, contracted the illness from someone other than his wife. Another VERY wealthy relative gambled away 26 houses. Still another, to impress a woman he was wooing, bought out an entire theater performance so that the two could be the only people in the theater. They did get married, but later divorced, partly due to his infidelity. The same man ran for government and promised the voters that he would provide a copious feast if he won. He won.
We have all seen unhappy rich people in the news, with broken marriages and families, and disordered lives.
If you happen to be blessed with wealth, however you obtained it, remember that all your riches, and anything you possess, ultimately comes from God. (Of course, dishonest wealth is not in God’s plan.)
There were several rich men in the Bible who were righteous. Being rich doesn’t have to be evil in itself. For example, Abraham was quite wealthy and a person of great faith. Again, recall the story of Job, who lost all his riches and most of his relatives, but did not curse God. Ultimately, God restored everything to him, and more. There were rich Christians in the New Testament who shared their wealth. The point being, that their wealth was not where they derived their value, but they derived it from Christ.
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Commentary, Personal story
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