That one thing
Photo by Pixabay: https://www.pexels.com/photo/hard-cash-on-a-briefcase-259027/
Last week was the inauguration of Donald Trump as President of the United States of America, for the second time. Much has been said already about the event including what was said and how it was received.
One image stood out to me. Behind Mr Trump, in the VIP section, there were three of the world’s richest men: Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk.
Zuckerberg, now 44 is the co-founder of Facebook, who’s net worth is around $223.6 billion (Forbes).
Bezos, who is 61, is the founder of Amazon, who’s net worth is around $247.6 billion (Forbes).
Musk, aged 53, is the man behind Tesla, SpaceX and X (formerly Twitter), who’s net worth is around $422.7 billion (Forbes), the richest man in the world!
These entrepreneurs started young and have been incredibly successful over the years, with some controversy thrown in, along the way.
Ben Francis (in the UK), just 31, has a net value of $1.3 billion (Forbes) as the co-creator of Gymshark sportswear, a business he started when just 19. He is one of the world’s youngest billionaires!
It can be both inspiring and daunting to read about these people. They are skilled, motivated and very good at what they do. I think we need creative entrepreneurs like these in all areas of society.
Having more money than you will ever need can have its downsides. There is such a story in the Bible when Jesus encountered a wealthy young man.
The man asked Jesus how he could get eternal life. Jesus told him to keep all the commandments, which the youth said he did. However…
“Jesus looked at him and loved him. ‘One thing you lack,’ he said. ‘Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.’”
What happened next is shocking. The Bible says that the young man went away sad, because he had great wealth.
In other words, he was not prepared to give up that wealth as Jesus said and follow him. We do not know what happened to that young man, as he never appears in the Bible again.
Jesus graciously ‘put his finger’ on the very thing that was the issue for this man. His wealth was more important to him than being obedient to Jesus.
You and I may not be a billionaire, but I wonder if there is one thing that is so important that if Jesus asked us, would we be obedient, give it up and follow him?
Have a good day!
God bless you :)
Gary Bastin - Hope Community Church leader