Be Wise - Go For Total Wealth
by: Emmanuel Emezie
When we lack certain things, the joy of living is diminished. In some instances we may become considerably distressed and even incapacitated. When we are sick, in other words, when we lack good health, it is usually not a happy circumstance and we do all we can to regain our health. When someone is poor, that is, when they lack money and material possessions, life is not very enjoyable. Such a person is not able to live the way he or she wishes or do the things he or she wants. Poverty oppresses and incapacitates. As individuals and as nations, we all are desirous to distance ourselves from poverty. Likewise, life is not so full and satisfying when we fail to find happiness and fulfillment in relationships and in our work. (By relationships, I mean relationship with God and our fellow human beings). The deep desires we have to commune with deity and to love and be loved by others are emotional needs we are born with. And so we find that human beings experience want in three identifiable areas. Life requires us to cope with physical, material and spiritual wants.
The saying, ‘health is wealth’ implies that someone in good health can be said to have physical wealth. When a person has a lot of money and material possessions we describe him or her as being materially wealthy. In the same vein, when someone finds happiness and fulfillment in relationships and in their work, they can be said to possess spiritual wealth. And so we come to the concept of total wealth. To have total wealth is to be completely free from any form of lack, be it physical, material or spiritual. This is the holistic model of success. A person is truly wealthy only when he or she has gained total wealth.
In general, people tend to be primarily concerned with their material well-being. Hence they focus on striving for material wealth. But thanks to Jane Fonda, the keep fit buff. In the last few decades, Americans and others around the globe have realized the need to pursue wealth of the physical kind. There is now an awareness of the health risks inherent in the sedentary life style engendered by technological advancement. These days, being healthy is not just about being free from sickness. One has to be physically fit. Lots of people are now adopting the proactive approach of exercising regularly to maintain good health and keep fit.
However, gaining spiritual wealth is one goal most people cannot be said to be striving hard to attain. And to think that this ought to be our priority. When someone gains spiritual wealth, they are guaranteed to also achieve material and physical wealth. If you have any reservations about this assertion, then listen to the wise counsel of one of the world’s greatest spiritual luminaries, Jesus Christ of Nazareth:
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air, they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?
“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Taken from the Bible (NIV), Mathew 6:25-33)
But what is there to lose if someone chooses not to bother with the pursuit of spiritual wealth? This is a perfectly legitimate question to ask and the answer can be found by taking a close look at the lives of some prominent individuals. (Some of them are late).
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Be Wise - Go For Total Wealth
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About The Author
Emmanuel Emezie is a philosopher-scientist. A six-year-long scientific inquiry into the spiritual aspect of life led him to the discovery of intriguing and life transforming spiritual knowledge which he recorded in a book entitled, Spiritual Science. Visit the Spiritual Science website at: www.spiritualsciencesociety.org.
manuelemezie@yahoo.com
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