Spiritual Wealth Not Material Wealth

Years ago in Indianapolis, someone had been leaving sums of money hidden in places all over town with instructions that the finder had to do something good with at least part of the money. It became great fun for people to start saying attention to things around them in the hopes of finding some of the “hidden” money.

No one knew who the benefactor was making it all so mysterious. Those that found money would reveal what they had done in turn, to “share the wealth”. The finders were happy and those who enjoyed hearing the stories were happy. It was later revealed that it was a stunt put on by a local radio station to make people feel good and to allow them to help others

in some small way.

We have all heard stories about people who suddenly found themselves lottery winners or those who received an inheritance and tell how having a lot of money changed their lives and not always for the better. Instead of finding happiness, more problems arose and many found themselves broke not long after getting rich. But in tales of sudden wealth, there seems to be something missing.

No amount of money will make us happy without spiritual wealth. Spiritual wealth provides us with faith, love and wisdom. Spiritual wealth can lead to happiness by guiding us into loving and caring relationships and lasting, loving friendships. Material wealth is easy to determine but to figure out how spiritually wealthy we are, we just have to look closely at

our lives.

What do our relationships look like? Do we accept people for who they are without passing judgment? Do we know how to forgive and forget when wronged? Do we truly value our life and the many obstacles it may throw at us? The answers to these questions can tell us about the quality of our spiritual wealth. We can say that spiritual wealth is a resource that never runs dry.

That being the case, we can draw from that resource to replenish us whenever we need it to make our lives happy and prosperous. Now there is nothing wrong with some material comfort by any means. It can feed and clothe us, put a roof over our head and pay our bills. But spiritual wealth is always there for us like a full bank account. A good example, is if we need wisdom, we can just make a withdrawal. With spiritual wealth, we will always have a deep sense of peace and security that material wealth alone cannot provide. The key is simple: Spiritual wealth is about caring and sharing. This is how we gain true happiness.

Reverend Bob