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Wealth


 One person pretends to be rich, yet has nothing; another pretends to be poor, yet has great wealth. (Proverbs 13:7)

          We get so confused about wealth and beauty, about what is good, better, and best. Where I’m living there are recreational vehicles that cost nearly a hundred thousand dollars. The expensive ones don’t come here. They go somewhere glitzier. I walk by mobile homes that have big screen TVs and golf carts, and I walk by places like my own that are ready for the scrap yard. You’re probably thinking that I’m going to launch into those “sometimes the poor folks are actually happier” sermons. You’re right, sort of. I love words. I love definitions. It seems to me as though we define wealth only in terms of money. We define beauty only in terms of a well-balanced appearance. We think these are the keys to a happy life, and they may help, or they may get in the way. 
         Let’s start with the beauty question. There are a lot of beautiful people out there. They’re attractive until their open their mouths. Sometimes their ugliness is in their vocabulary. Sometimes it is in what flows out of their hearts. They remind me of the wicked step-sisters in Cinderella. In fact, that’s what society, in general, reminds me of. But I digress. The thing is, many of them are young and idealistic, sort of like the guy I wrote about recently who lectured me in how to get ahead and how he was going to be rich in ___ years. And I have seen some people who have been beaten down in life who have a depth of beauty that the petty pretty cannot match. 
          The same is true of people with lots of money. They may lack the depth of character needed to be truly wealthy. Their wealth is merely money. Petty prettiness and mere money do not equal wealth, no matter how much those with them pretend that they do. I’m not mere money wealthy, but my life has a richness that I hope I wouldn’t trade for money. I’m not what I’d call pretty, but I’ve picked up trash that people with beautiful faces walked by, and put them in the trash. You might find my opinions and my willingness to argue for them offensive, but if I think you’re right and/or that you’re being unjustifiably attacked (by someone else) chances are pretty good that I’ll stand with you. I have no doubt that you have wealth and beauty, too.

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