Luke 12:34 (NIV)
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be
also.
A teacher in Canada was dirt poor one day, and the next,
he was a millionaire. Although he hadn't planned on becoming rich, he did.
Living from check to check, at the end of the month having barely enough funds
to purchase food, he decided one day to purchase a lottery ticket. Just for
fun. He forgot all about it, until 2 months later he discovered he had won an 8
digit sum of money.
Everything changed for him that day, a day he wished had
never occurred.
First it was the media and stalkers he had to avoid. His
private life became public, and everybody wanted a share of his story. Then the
scam artists managed to get his credit card number, followed by myriad of
charities who begged him to sustain their endeavors. His email inbox maxed out
and his phone became swamped with text messages, all requests from people
asking for money to pay their loans.
What hurt him the most of all was that his very own
colleagues, his closest friends, all turned on him. They wanted him to pay off
their credit-card bills as well as any other loans they may have had. They were
adamant about it, and soon his board email inbox was maxed out as well.
Pressure became so toxic that although he loved teaching, he had to resign.
He never wanted that money. In fact he lives now as a
simple man. No one around him would even guess he is rich. He set up
scholarship funds at the university he graduated at, designed to help people in
economic need attain their university diplomas.
I wonder who is more blessed: the rich or the poor? Is it
really worth our effort of even trying to become rich? Being rich doesn't
provide for everything. In fact the more
goods we have on earth, the more worries we have as well. How can we even make
sure who truly is our friend in such circumstances?
Where is your treasure stored up?
Dear Lord, we thank You for what you give us. We pray
that we would always use it in a manner that is pleasing to You. In Jesus’
Name, Amen.
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