Many of you have asked me what the connection
between the quest for success and the quest for salvation could be. According to
some, the quest for financial success is a kind of obstruction to the quest for
salvation which seemingly is the most important in life.
These are some of the issues we will be
exploring deeper as we move along but then one thing is very clear and I must
tell you. Riches are not and will never be bad; it is the usage of riches that
could be bad. How you use your riches determines whether they are a blessing
or a curse in your life. To you the Christian, do you know that Jesus Christ is
the greatest Economist that ever lived? Who is an economist? Understand that as
a human being, “you can’t think your way
out”. Vernon Howard puts it beautifully below…
“You
must face the absolute necessity of coming to the end of thought. Realize it is
never going to do you any good at all to think your way out. If you will allow
God to be your teacher instead of your thought, that is the prayer. No more
trying to figure it out on the level of the intellect. You’re blocking the flow
by trying to guide yourself. God will handle everything for me when there is no
me to try to handle anything. Your pain is trying to tell you that you are
wrong. Consent to inner transformation. Let go”.
If you don’t align
your quest for success here on earth with your quest for salvation in the hereafter,
it can be horrible on your side, the two go together. This might explain why
Vernon Howard goes on to say you should not “…look to anyone else.” He says that...
“Within you is a center that is not a part of
this world. It’s real, permanent, but it is overwhelmed by your foolish desires
to always be surrounded by people. It’s small and is bluffed and intimidated,
and can’t grow. Be honest. Know that you can’t live without having a lot of
other people around you, including friends and enemies in your own mind. You
have to have that enemy. Everything you need is inside you. You don’t have to
look to anyone else on earth.”
There is no contradiction between riches or earthly success and salvation. In fact, many rich people go to Heaven. It depends not only on how you use your riches but also on how you get them. If you get your riches through unscrupulous means, you get them the wrong way; and that is a way to bar your way to heaven. Yet, this is what many people do. Others get theirs the right way but misuse it. Even in the time of Jesus, there was money and he appreciated the woman who gave all that she had. It was the widow's mite; but all that she had. All our riches come from God and belong to God. Hence, we must use them for the glory of his name. This does not mean donating all our money to the Church but using it to make the world a better place: donate to the Church, do good to ourselves, bring up our children well, help other people, do good etc.
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