Can’t Take it With You

“Yet true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth. After all, we brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can’t take anything with us when we leave it.” 1 Timothy 6: 6-7

As I sit here and write I think about some of the wealthiest characters in literature. They always had so many things, money, power, but most of the time they didn’t have anyone to share it with. Sometimes they would leave their assets to distant relatives, other times their belongings are auctioned off or repossessed by banks. There’s one thing that’s always the same, no matter what the story: They never take their wealth with them. Even if you think about the ancient Egyptian pharaohs who had great pyramids built in their honor and filled them with all the riches they would need for the afterlife, in the end many of those pyramids were looted and robbed or at best discovered centuries later by explorers who in turn put their riches in museums for us all to look at. All in all, wealth does not follow us to the grave.

The bible tells us that true godliness with contentment is its own great wealth. What does that mean? It means being a good, Christ-filled person who is Satisfied with what God has blessed you with is enough to have a great life. We all have things we wish we could have more or less of, places we’d like to see, adventures we’d like to have, but there’s nothing wrong with being Satisfied with the here and now. I know this probably pains especially hard right now as many of us have to give up the dreams of the summer we’ve been planning; even the year we’ve been planning. I know I went into 2020 with all the hopes and dreams of great success, accomplishing goals and most especially, building up my bank account so I could knock some bucket list items off my to-do-list. COVID-19 brought that to a screeching halt. But in the end of it, I have my health and my family and friends are healthy and we’re all surviving. We’ve experienced some loss, be it death, jobs, savings, or plans, the sting is there, but it isn’t permanent. There will be more opportunities for us to do things.

I know that we’re itching to get back into the world. I know we want to make our money, buy our houses and cars, and take those luxury vacations. But I implore you to remember, that your life is worth more than these short term luxuries that you can’t take with you. Learn to be satisfied with what you DO have, and focus less on what you’re missing out on. How can you do that? Spend time talking about good memories with friends and family. The laughs that you can share over a throwback Thursday or a flashback Friday can be good and hearty and put numerous smiles on your face. Make a donation to those less fortunate, and a donation doesn’t always have to be material things. There’s always someone who can and will appreciate kind words, time, or material things you can spare that they may need desperately. And above everything else, find gratitude. Gratitude and Satisfaction make great bedfellows because when you’re grateful for what you have, it’s easy to be satisfied with life.

So remember, Satisfaction doesn’t come in material things you have or wish you had, it comes from spreading love and light to the world and living it in your heart. Satisfaction comes from happiness and health, not material wealth. And be kind to those around you and yourself. Getting through hard times and good times is easier when you don’t have to do it by yourself. Being a good person is it’s own reward: it means the things you can’t take with you when you leave this world don’t have to mean as much.