Thursday, September 2, 2010

3 Nephi - Chapter 6

The pursuit of wealth sure seems to have its casualties.  It is important to remember that it need not be so.  Still, it must not be ignored that is most commonly is so.  I have a dear friend who, while acknowledging the that the love of money is the root of all evil, is quick to point out that he doesn't love money, "we just have a meaningful relationship."

Wealth seems to offer comfort and security.  Somehow, it then makes us feel better about ourselves - safe, special.  That can easily set us up for looking down on those not so fortunate.  We get proud of our blessings viewing them as accomplishments rather than gifts from God.  Pretty soon we're offending everyone and the cycle begins again.

Could we be wealthy and grateful and humble at the same time?  Of course, that is if we appreciate wealth instead of worshiping it.  I believe that if we pursue God's will and pleasure, rather than our own, He would see to it that we had all the resources necessary to accomplish His will.  I also believe that even if we have some great ideas about philanthropically sharing our hoped for wealth; that those ideas may still be our own will and not God's.  Should that be the case we still may not obtain what we seek, or if we do, we obtain it at our own peril.  It is likely that the folks in this chapter may not have had bad motives for their acquisitions, but bad or not, the wealth the acquired brought about their pride and destruction all the same.

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