Excessive Wealth Part 2: (The spiritual implication)
There is a very important quotation in the holy bible and it goes thus "A man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions" Luke 12:15. On that note I welcome you all once again as we continue from our previous discussion on man's intense desire for excessive wealth and its implications (the spiritual implication). In a prelude to that statement (Luke 12:15), Jesus strictly warns all to 'guard' themselves against this desire for excessive wealth as it is known as one major factor that breeds greed amongst humans. This may seem a little bit difficult for some to accept but for the true christians it should sound pretty straight forward since life as a christian has never been known to be an easy ride realistically. But taking proper note of the words used by Jesus in this sermon, he says " Guard yourselves " or (in some versions) "Beware of all covetousness." With regards to this, I would assume that we are not entirely restricted from desiring or acquiring wealth, even excessively, but in all attempts to do so we are to do it cautiously and above all 'beware'. Of course we cannot play down the fact that there are actually the genuinely rich in our society, but then, the lives of these exceptional individuals should be studied in whole rather than in parts and also seen as models by those who are solely bent on achieving this feat. The major problem is that many a times we catch ourselves admiring just the luxurious lifestyles and material possessions of these individuals,foregoing their means to this end.
Moreover, I was fortunate to be in church during our annual harvest ceremony this year and I say so because the reading of the day was taken from the Holy gospel according to Timothy (st. Paul's first letter to him) chapter 6:6-11,17-19. I feel it is quite pertinent to our discussion topic and would love to share with us. In this bible passage, St. Paul posits that (in his words according to the bible) " there is great gain in godliness with contentment for we brought nothing into this world and cannot take anything out of this world; but if we have food and clothing , with these shall we be content". I wish I could go on with these instructional and soul-captivating words of this passage from the holy bible for I felt instantly touched hearing them. Further down the passage, St. Paul outlays the spiritual implications of this strong hunger "For those who desire to be rich fall into snare, into many senseless and and hurtful desires that plunge men into ruin". He goes further to say "for the love of money is the root of all evils; Through this craving some have wandered away from the faith and pierced their hearts with many pangs". the apostle also warned the rich not to set their hopes on uncertain riches but on God: to be rich in good deeds , liberal and generous, thus laying up for themselves a good foundation for the future and also that they may have eternal life.
The word 'contentment' is one that has its existence figuratively threatened in recent times, especially in a country like Nigeria where it is seen as a watchword for stagnation, poverty and sometimes stupidity. But if only we would adhere to the simple words of St. Paul which says that "there is great gain in godliness with contentment", I believe that this country and the world at large would be a far better place to be in.
Obviously, there is hardly anything I can say on my own that surpasses these wise words of the apostle Paul. He enumerates clearly all that is required for a fulfilled life with Christ for the rich , the not-so-rich and even the poor; summarizing in totality all I have tried to say from the start (part 1).Nevertheless, another critical point made by St. Paul that I must emphasize on is that which pertains the future, "thus laying up for themselves a good foundation for the future". Accept my skepticism here but am not very sure about the context in which St. Paul uses this word (future). It might have meant the future of an individual or probably the future of the world with respect to an individual's life. Either way, it was aimed at portraying something: the today of yesterday or the tomorrow of today. I would love to take my standpoint from the second context as explained above for it paints a more vivid picture of our discussion. The various attributes exhibited by the present generation are basically offshoots from the actions of the past generations. Hence I partly disagree with people when they say that there never existed anything like this in the past because like the popular saying "There is no smoke without fire", and I believe that we can all relate to that. It has always been around the various epochs till date, just happens to have been at a minimal level in times past. We only feel the recent surge of it now because it turns out that as man advances in knowledge, he (unknowingly) continues to device several means of manipulating and destroying the same world. As time advanced, man continued to pass down these fruits (advancement in knowledge and in technology) to the younger generation who eventually built on these,so that just as the world developed in certain areas, moral decadence was also somehow enhanced. A typical example of this situation in present times is the internet fraud . In light of this, permit me to say that the future builds on that which the present holds.
However, in this section of our discussion (part 2), I have majorly spoken from the viewpoint of my faith and belief as a christian which may not go down very well with individuals of other beliefs ,but I doubt if there exists any faith, or societal beliefs that preaches anything to the contrary; that encourages this strong desire for excessive wealth when the means to this end is of no moral standard.
Finally, Jesus Christ in his sermon to a crowd admonished that as christians we ought to store up treasures and wealth in heaven and not here on earth where nothing lasts forever making an illustration with the story of the rich fool. For the treasures we amass here on earth would amount to nothing when compared to an everlasting storage of treasures in heaven. Therefore I ask, would it be proper for us to let this strong desire for wealth and material possessions manipulate us? Are we going to have total or even partial disregard for God and neighbors because of this selfish desire? These questions we must have personal answers to as youths, students, lecturers, religious leaders, the poor, the rich, holders of government offices, and workers on all fronts of life. To this end, I conclude with the words of Jesus Christ in the book of Luke which says that a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions (Luke 12:15), and so I ask, does yours?
WORD
Azih ChimezieHUMAN CORRUPTION
There is a very important quotation in the holy bible and it goes thus "A man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions" Luke 12:15. On that note I welcome you all once again as we continue from our previous discussion on man's intense desire for excessive wealth and its implications (the spiritual implication). In a prelude to that statement (Luke 12:15), Jesus strictly warns all to 'guard' themselves against this desire for excessive wealth as it is known as one major factor that breeds greed amongst humans. This may seem a little bit difficult for some to accept but for the true christians it should sound pretty straight forward since life as a christian has never been known to be an easy ride realistically. But taking proper note of the words used by Jesus in this sermon, he says " Guard yourselves " or (in some versions) "Beware of all covetousness." With regards to this, I would assume that we are not entirely restricted from desiring or acquiring wealth, even excessively, but in all attempts to do so we are to do it cautiously and above all 'beware'. Of course we cannot play down the fact that there are actually the genuinely rich in our society, but then, the lives of these exceptional individuals should be studied in whole rather than in parts and also seen as models by those who are solely bent on achieving this feat. The major problem is that many a times we catch ourselves admiring just the luxurious lifestyles and material possessions of these individuals,foregoing their means to this end.
Moreover, I was fortunate to be in church during our annual harvest ceremony this year and I say so because the reading of the day was taken from the Holy gospel according to Timothy (st. Paul's first letter to him) chapter 6:6-11,17-19. I feel it is quite pertinent to our discussion topic and would love to share with us. In this bible passage, St. Paul posits that (in his words according to the bible) " there is great gain in godliness with contentment for we brought nothing into this world and cannot take anything out of this world; but if we have food and clothing , with these shall we be content". I wish I could go on with these instructional and soul-captivating words of this passage from the holy bible for I felt instantly touched hearing them. Further down the passage, St. Paul outlays the spiritual implications of this strong hunger "For those who desire to be rich fall into snare, into many senseless and and hurtful desires that plunge men into ruin". He goes further to say "for the love of money is the root of all evils; Through this craving some have wandered away from the faith and pierced their hearts with many pangs". the apostle also warned the rich not to set their hopes on uncertain riches but on God: to be rich in good deeds , liberal and generous, thus laying up for themselves a good foundation for the future and also that they may have eternal life.
The word 'contentment' is one that has its existence figuratively threatened in recent times, especially in a country like Nigeria where it is seen as a watchword for stagnation, poverty and sometimes stupidity. But if only we would adhere to the simple words of St. Paul which says that "there is great gain in godliness with contentment", I believe that this country and the world at large would be a far better place to be in.
Obviously, there is hardly anything I can say on my own that surpasses these wise words of the apostle Paul. He enumerates clearly all that is required for a fulfilled life with Christ for the rich , the not-so-rich and even the poor; summarizing in totality all I have tried to say from the start (part 1).Nevertheless, another critical point made by St. Paul that I must emphasize on is that which pertains the future, "thus laying up for themselves a good foundation for the future". Accept my skepticism here but am not very sure about the context in which St. Paul uses this word (future). It might have meant the future of an individual or probably the future of the world with respect to an individual's life. Either way, it was aimed at portraying something: the today of yesterday or the tomorrow of today. I would love to take my standpoint from the second context as explained above for it paints a more vivid picture of our discussion. The various attributes exhibited by the present generation are basically offshoots from the actions of the past generations. Hence I partly disagree with people when they say that there never existed anything like this in the past because like the popular saying "There is no smoke without fire", and I believe that we can all relate to that. It has always been around the various epochs till date, just happens to have been at a minimal level in times past. We only feel the recent surge of it now because it turns out that as man advances in knowledge, he (unknowingly) continues to device several means of manipulating and destroying the same world. As time advanced, man continued to pass down these fruits (advancement in knowledge and in technology) to the younger generation who eventually built on these,so that just as the world developed in certain areas, moral decadence was also somehow enhanced. A typical example of this situation in present times is the internet fraud . In light of this, permit me to say that the future builds on that which the present holds.
However, in this section of our discussion (part 2), I have majorly spoken from the viewpoint of my faith and belief as a christian which may not go down very well with individuals of other beliefs ,but I doubt if there exists any faith, or societal beliefs that preaches anything to the contrary; that encourages this strong desire for excessive wealth when the means to this end is of no moral standard.
Finally, Jesus Christ in his sermon to a crowd admonished that as christians we ought to store up treasures and wealth in heaven and not here on earth where nothing lasts forever making an illustration with the story of the rich fool. For the treasures we amass here on earth would amount to nothing when compared to an everlasting storage of treasures in heaven. Therefore I ask, would it be proper for us to let this strong desire for wealth and material possessions manipulate us? Are we going to have total or even partial disregard for God and neighbors because of this selfish desire? These questions we must have personal answers to as youths, students, lecturers, religious leaders, the poor, the rich, holders of government offices, and workers on all fronts of life. To this end, I conclude with the words of Jesus Christ in the book of Luke which says that a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions (Luke 12:15), and so I ask, does yours?
WORD
Azih ChimezieHUMAN CORRUPTION
