A Rich Man Nobody Envied
"The blessing of him that was ready to perish came upon me: and I caused the widow’s heart to sing for joy" -- Job 29:13
He possessed a considerable fortune. Yet he lived modestly. He made no show of his wealth. The luxuries that wealth can purchase did not satisfy him. To him, doing good was a greater luxury.
He counted his wealth a trust from God. He was so conscientious about the use of it that he wrote a book on the subject. From that book the following paragraph is taken:
"There is a luxury in doing good sweeter far than any material gratification that money can buy. It is better to be rich in good works, rich in happy memories, in an approving conscience, in the prayers of the poor and in the smiles of heaven, then in heaps of mere golden dross. He who can truthfully say with the patriarch, ‘The blessing of him that was ready to perish came upon me, and I caused the widow’s heart to sing for joy,’ is rich indeed, in an immortal treasure, that no possible reverses of fortune can ever destroy."
Nobody was envious of this man because of his wealth. The above paragraph reveals the secret. When a man has money and uses it as he did, the people around him do not usually begrudge it to him. Rather they are glad he has it. If a man has money and nobody is glad he has it, there must be something wrong either with the way he made it or with the way he uses it.
Riches tend to create envy. But not all who are rich are envied by their neighbours. When men make money righteously and use it rightly, as a rule their neighbours, instead of being envious of them, will be glad of their prosperity.
