The Meaning of Being Rich
I have my problems and you have yours. It’s true. However, I would bet you that your problems are mostly those of a rich person.
Three years ago, I went for the first time to North Point with my son, the series of messages given by Andy Stanley was called “How to be Rich” and not the traditional, worn out, and abused the idea of “how to get rich”. Within one hour I arrived at the conclusion that I had two options: move to Atlanta or look for a way to bring North Point to Costa Rica, although we were not aware initially that we were a click away on their Youtube channel or online through their messages on his website, and now the highly recommended: North Point On-Line.
During that first encounter, Stanley focused on reminding us how rich we truly are, because according to the lives of more than six billion people in the world, being rich is simply having more than you need. Let’s review it in one paragraph.
Many people will read this entry in my blog from their computer, at their home or at their work. (Home! Work!). Many have a car and even have a house for it, though we may call it the garage. We open the tap and we have drinkable water, we have money to go to the movies or a restaurant and we even have food in a pantry, in case we crave or want something different. We take vacations, we go to the beach, we make long distance calls and we even have money to travel once a year or every quinquennium, because we have more than we need.
Constant Seek of More Things
We are rich, and though we cannot acknowledge it, because when it comes to material possessions they are a moving target, only a few manage to truly live like a rich person, because we let our problems high-jack us. Then, we fall into the trap of thinking that one day we will have a lot of money, although one thing will always be true: a lot of money is double what you have.
God has specific instructions in the Bible for those of us who have more than we need, and for those that want to learn about or go over it again take a look at 1 Tim. 6:17-19; Prov. 18:11; Eccles. 5:10; Mat. 6:24 and Luke 12:13-21. You could also, for $1 per message, and there are only 4 messages in the series, download the audios in English onto your computer in the Resources section online. By the way, Openhouse exists in Costa Rica, an option in English and in at the theater for those who seek, return or explore.
I am no expert in these topics, but to address under public acknowledgment that I don’t like conventional churches is something that has given me the freedom to explore them with greater willingness. Impositions don’t sit well with me, and on the contrary, accepting that I am rich because I have more than I need has helped me to understand the real dimension of my problems.
Placing our problems in their real dimension is key. It lowers stress, it prevents long faces, I assume it reduces wrinkles and it may even improve our intimacy capabilities and in our professional lives. There is nothing to lose and everything to gain, although, living this way sustainably is, in my opinion, very difficult without help from heaven.
Rich people problems. Nothing we can’t overcome. The important thing is how to be truly rich. That is our challenge.
