There
is a parable that narrates that a religious person, after a tiring day’s walk,
reached the outskirt of a village and settled under a tree for the night.
Suddenly a villager came running up to him and said, “The stone! The stone!
Give me the precious stone!”
“What
stone?” asked the religious person.
“Last
night I had a dream where God told me that if I went to the outskirt of the
village at dusk a sage would give me a stone that would make me rich forever.”
The
sage rummaged his sack and pulling out a stone, he said, “He probably meant
this one. I found it in the forest yesterday. Here, it’s yours if you want
it.”
The
man gazed at the stone in wonder. It was the largest diamond in the world –
the size of a man’s head.
All
night he tossed about in bed. At the break of day, he went back to the sage and
said, “Take your diamond back. More valuable than the diamond you gave me is
the secret behind the ease with which you gave away the diamond. Can you give me
the wealth that made it possible for you to give the stone away so easily?”
The
villager learnt a valuable lesson that he cherished to the time of his death –
never be enslaved to materialistic possessions. As long as one is not enslaved
by materialistic possessions there is however nothing wrong in becoming rich the
honest way.
One
of life’s diabolical shortcomings is the belief by many that all things good
and golden are bad for the soul because they create unhealthy attachments and
unholy desires and make human beings slaves to materialistic values. By
injecting a few truths into a cauldron of lies, it is made to appear that to be
poor is to be next to God and to be in possession of all things materially
beautiful is to be far from the gates of heaven.
When
one can afford it, there is nothing wrong in enjoying the grandeur of a good
home, good clothes, a good car, delicious cuisine and also in spending money to
travel to different cities in the world because the good things in life are
there to be enjoyed. Celebrate the good life if you can afford it because as
long as it is virtuous, it is from God.
Materialism
has been tarnished with an ugly tinge whereby those involved in the acquisition
of luxury goods are looked upon as having character defects or being
irreligious. The good mind is made to believe that all the good and golden
things that are expensive are unholy and that all the wealth that glitters is
gold alchemised from the hot hinges of hell’s doors.
The
sensitive affluent who live relatively straight lives need to be alert to the
wily ways of those who are all out to misguide them that it is a sin to spend
too much money. Wisdom and religious guidance rule that in the first place money
or wealth accumulated should be honestly earned.
Religious
guidance also highly recommends charity. In one’s wealth there should be
enough allowance for charities, that is to ensure that one not only lives for
oneself but also for others – that is to live and let live. After all, we make
a living by what we get but make a life for the hereafter by what we give!
While
there is nothing wrong in making money, it is wrong for one to make money
one’s only focus in life or to make the acquisition of goods and attachments
the only objective of life because this can easily divert a person from the many
good things that life offers through valuable family time, constructive
philanthropy or even voluntary services that give one a deep inner sense of
happiness.
As
long as one does not trespass into the world of vices, as long as one does not
spend money in extravagance to show off, as long as one’s earnings are fair,
why then should it be a sin to be rich?