The Difference Between Wealth and Riches
Will you set your eyes on that which is not?
For riches certainly make themselves wings;
They fly away like an eagle toward heaven.
__Proverbs 23:5
My dear and dearly loved Virtually Perfect Grandchildren,
It is important to know that there is a difference between wealth and riches.
Wealth has to do with freedom: Freedom to do what you want, when you want, and with whom you want. (Within the boundaries of God’s laws and will for your life.)
A person is wealthy when they have the freedom to do what they want, when they want, and with whom they want.
Within the boundaries of God’s laws and will for their life
On the other hand, riches has to do with slavery: Accumulating, managing, and storing things that others say is important if you want to be “somebody” and accepted.
Riches are about impressing others and thus you are always in bondage to the latest fashions and fads that others say matter.
Riches rot, rust, or rotate out to make room for the next new thing that is supposed to impress.
That’s why Solomon cautioned to not pursue them. Riches fly away: what was in vogue last year can be purchased at a Goodwill Store this year.
But wealth: if managed wisely, endures providing you with opportunities that riches can never provide.
Riches fly away: what was in vogue last year can be purchased at a Goodwill Store this year.
My parents taught me this through their lives and teachings.
For example, when my dad was a young minister there was a tremendous amount of pressure put on him to “appear” successful. Most of the ministers in his circles came from very humble backgrounds and in an effort to fit in with the “uptown” churches and their ministers they felt they had to wear expensive suits, ties, shoe, and drive expensive cars.
To be clear, there is nothing wrong with owning nice clothes or driving luxury cars but if your purpose is to impress others or to fit in then you’re chasing the wind – riches that are always flying away. (Actually, what is flying away is your wealth and freedom.)
I could name you many ministers who ended their ministry with a closet full of old suits and shoes and a life time of big car payments who ended their ministry unprepared financially, destined to live out their final days in poverty and leaving their widows in even worse condition. All because they confused riches with wealth.
Thankfully my parents choose a different course. They never made a lot of money but they choose to manage wisely the money they did have so that they would have freedom: freedom to do what they wanted, when they wanted and with whom they wanted. That’s true wealth.
And one other thing, don’t confuse riches or even wealth with treasures.
Treasures are priceless things in your life; often things that money cannot buy. Things like a special marble or sea shell, or a feather or a pressed flower, or a picture or a gift or ticket stub from some special memory.
Treasures are the scribbles of your grandchildren. (I still have some of yours.)
Treasures are memories of your baby wrapping its little hand around your pinky finger. (I remember each of you doing that with my pinky finger.)
Treasures are often invisible: a kiss, a moment when the sunlight hit the water of a babbling brook as you were hiking and you sensed the presence and pleasure of God.
Bottom line, treasures are priceless and unique-to-you and will bring you comfort and strength through life in a way that wealth or riches can never do.
So what to do?
- RE: Riches. Don’t feel guilty for enjoying good things, but always pay cash and never buy them to impress others or be accepted by others.
- RE: Wealth: Always live below your means and save the differences. Save, save, save and invest your savings. Don’t save to buy things (there’s a place for that), but save to be free. If you do that long enough, you will be.
- RE: Treasures. And whatever you do, treasure your treasures.
And finally…
Always know that I consider myself a very wealthy and blessed man, if for no other reason than I have such wonderful and “virtually perfect” grandchildren. You are treasures to me.
Love always, Papa
Prayer: Father God, please help my grandchildren to be wealthy in the things that matter most and to have the character to enjoyed the riches of life and the wisdom to recognize the true treasures of life.
- “Virtue is when the income you wish to show the tax agency exceeds what you wish to show your neighbor.” — The Bed of Procrustes: Philosophical and Practical Aphorisms (Incerto Book 4) by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
- “Of course, money buys happiness. But, not because it allows us to buy fancy toys and live in a big house. Money buys what all of us desire: freedom and a sense of control over our lives.” — The Rational Investor: How to Beat Wall Street, Build Passive Wealth and Stop Worrying About Money by Ben Le Fort
