By Kippy Meyers
Herbert Chun of New South Wales in
Australia learned a hard lesson about some of the many hardships
that can be associated with riches. He won $70,000 in the lottery.
Upon learning of his winnings, he was so excited that he fell dead
of a heart attack. The same thing happened to William Lane after he
won $250,000 in the lottery. The same thing happened to Harold
Richards. I suspect that there are other examples of this. I don't
suppose that anyone would say, "Winning the lottery was the best
thing that ever happened to them."
There are other, even more significant
problems associated with having a lot of this world's goods (1
Timothy 3:10). One problem is that those who are "minded to be rich
fall into a temptation and a snare and many foolish and hurtful
lusts, such as drown men in destruction and perdition" (1 Timothy
3:9).
If Herbert, William, and Harold could
rewrite history, do you think that they would buy the lottery ticket
that brought their doom?
In times when cast becomes sparse, let us make
sure that our attitudes regarding riches are noble (Luke 12:15). The
best and most important things in life cannot be bought with cash.
Source:
Illustrations That Illustrate, The World Evangelist, Feb.
2002, p. 17.
There was a man who had worked all of his life and had saved all of his money? He loved money more than just about anything, and just before he died, he said to his wife, "Now listen, when I die, I want you to take all my money and place it in the casket with me. I want to take my money to the afterlife." And so he made his wife to promise him with all her heart that when he died, she would put all the money in the casket with him.
As it does for all of us, the day came when he died. He was stretched out in the casket, the wife was sitting there in black with one of her friends sitting next to her. When they finished the ceremony, just before the undertakers got ready to close the casket, the wife said "Wait just a minute!" she had a shoe box with her, she came over with the box and placed it in the casket.
Her friend said, "Girl I know you weren't fool enough to put all that money in the casket." "Listen," she said, "a promise is a promise, and I can't go back on my word. I promised him that I was going to put that money in that casket with him, and I did."
"You mean to tell me you put all of his money in the casket with him?"
"I sure did, " said the wife. "I got it all together, put it into my account and I wrote him a check."
Source:
Footprints in Time, Thomas E. Broadbent, editor, October 2004, p. 4.
For anywhere from $25,000 to a couple of million dollars you can have your very own safe room strong enough to withstand an attack by a small rocket or a big storm.
The rooms can be bare, safe-like structures designed for one person, or large, living room-sized shelters lavishly equipped with all sorts of amenities, depending on how much you want to spend.
Built of concrete and steel, some come with wired and wireless communication systems, a variety of alarms and even closed circuit TV monitors which scan the areas outside the rooms, according to theInternational Herald Tribune.
Because of their cost, only the very rich are likely to buy safe rooms. And safe rooms are anything but status symbols. owners don't brag about them or show them to their friends - for security reasons, having one is a very hush-hush matter. "Thus, a casual guest, or even a good friend, would probably never know that behind that built-in bookcase or bedroom mirror lies a bulletproof cell" (NewsMax, Apr. 26, 2002).
The "safe room," parenthetical, does not protect form the grim reaper, for "it is appointed unto man once to die" and it does not protect form the lake that burns with fire and brimstone in which all will be case who do not have their names written in the book of life. The only "safe room" is at the foot of the cross. It is nice to be rich, but silver and gold cannot bur a tome in heaven.
Source:
Firm Foundation, July 2002, 29-30.
