Be Like Jesus - 20

[Guest guest]

20 Jesus set no value on wealth or position. Once a rich man came to Jesus

when he was in the house of Martha and Mary. The rich man told Jesus that

despite all his wealth and possessions he did not have peace of mind. He was

harassed by many worries and appealed to Jesus to show him a way out. Jesus

told him: “There is a simple way but will you follow it? You have been

accumulating riches and your worries have grown with them. What are you going

to do with all this wealth, which some day you will have to leave behind?

Distribute it among the poor and the needy and all your worries will go.

Accumulate instead the wealth of God’s grace trough love of your

fellowmen.” This is the message that has to be understood today – truth and

Divine love constitute true wealth. All other forms of wealth, including the

wealth of scholarship, are valueless. What you should seek is the earning of

God’s love. You should regard all wealth as coming from God to be used for

sacred purposes. All worldly pleasures are fleeting and momentary. Do not be

proud of your youth, progeny and wealth. The mind robs you of the precious

treasure of spiritual wealth. Be ever watchful of its mechanics. Let your mind

not waver under any

circumstances, as a wavering mind becomes unsacred. Do not fritter the days in

attaining affluence in material possessions, which are often impediments in the

journey of life. Money comes and goes; morality comes – and grows! Money is not

true wealth; it loses value, it bloats the ego, and it hardens the heart. If it

does not circulate as blood does, it destroys health. There is a tale told of

old that wisdom and wealth once quarreled loud and long about their relative

importance. Wealth argued that without it, the body would be weak, the brain

would be hazy and wisdom would be a will-o-the-wisp. Wisdom retorted that,

without it man could not even distinguish wealth from non-wealth or know how to

earn it or use

it. The soul intervened and told them that they were both equally important,

but only when properly used. Wealth without wisdom becomes an instrument of

exploitation and tyranny; wisdom without wealth becomes fantasy and a bundle of

blueprint. Use makes them worthwhile; misuse makes them disastrous. It is like

knife in the hands of a maniac, which becomes an instrument for murder. Yet, in

he hands of a surgeon, it becomes an instrument which saves a life! Are you

doing good with wealth? Are you benefiting others by means of wisdom? – that is

the test. You may earn as much wealth as you can, but use it for the welfare of

the society. No one brings wealth when he is born or takes it with him when

he dies. Whatever riches one has accumulated have to be freely shared with

others. Flowers scatter fragrance; trees offer fruits in plenty. A tender heart

is more valuable than all material possessions. When moral and spiritual

excellence is gained, the Divinity in man becomes evident. .