Money doesn’t buy happiness. It’s true-even when you’re talking about lots of money! Andrew Carnegie, the steel tycoon-turned-philanthropist is certainly qualified to talk about money and happiness: his net worth was a massive $309.2 billion (with a b!) dollars, adjusted for inflation. To put that in perspective, Bill Gates and Warren Buffet each have a paltry $40 billion in assets today.
Here’s what Carnegie had to say about money: “Millionaires who laugh are rare. My experience is that wealth is apt to take the smiles away.”
Someone whose name has been lost in time captured the essence of his thought more clearly: “Money will buy a fine dog, but only love will make him wag his tail.”
God’s love is even more satisfying. The Hebrew author wrote, “Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he [God] has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’ So we can confidently say, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?'” (Heb. 13:5-6 ESV)
I pray that our nation, our churches, and our families will turn from seeking joy in things to seeking the face of God-and finding unending and incomparable joy! I pray that we will learn to “owe no man anything-BUT to love one another” (Rom. 13:8). I pray that we will look for joy in the arms of Jesus. It is he who became poor for our sake – and gave us the greatest riches ever known!