The Truly Rich

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:19-21 NIV

While it is hyperbolic and perhaps also sour grapes to argue that he is richest who needs the least, it is certainly true that the pursuit of wealth is never-ending, and the more one has, the more one has to worry about. Social scientists who study the relationship between happiness and wealth tell us that there is a small positive correlation between wealth and happiness, which is mainly because extreme poverty makes one miserable. But once you have achieved a modicum of wealth, having a lot more does not generally make you a lot happier. (Great disparities in wealth can also influence happiness, presumably because it pains us to see others who are tremendously wealthy when we are living in poverty.) Spiritual teachers have almost always advised us to be wary of wealth and its trappings, since wealth brings with it worries of its own and a false sense of security. They have also advised us to be happy with what we have, however modest it may be. And perhaps the best advice in this regard is to consider that there are both material and spiritual riches, and the spiritual ones are by far the better ones.

– Christopher Simon