Rich or Poor

THE EOMMA TALKS – TOPIC ON ‘Rich or Poor’

Thank you for joining me @theeommatalks. I will cast light on what makes a person rich or poor and how to build valuable relationships. If you are reading me for the first time, please know that each time I refer to God, I mean Yahweh, as this is the name God asked that He be called.

Out of an estimated world population of 7.7 billion there are 2,208 billionaires according to Forbes 2018 rich list and 19.6 million millionaires. It would be almost foolish to imagine the world richest people are not faced with dire financial decisions or worries on a regular basis. However, we can almost all agree that they are not lacking money. If you are not in the millionaire list you are not considered rich. This means that the rest of the world population can be described as striving to pay their bills or should we say poor. Living life has been pigeon holed to bills, social status and respect. Take away these three cares and you would not feel the heavy burden and pressure you associate with life.

Do you consider yourself rich or poor? What did you use to determine your answer? There is no middle ground as you either believe you are successful and wealthy or not.

Whether you are a Christian or not, we all desire and demand that life treat us well: meaning we want to be fulfilled. Many people want money so they can plug the physical lack hole and by so doing become fulfilled. Think of fulfilment as when you have eaten that nice meal and you feel content and satisfied. But think again, a person in a good relationship will always be more fulfilled than a person in a bad relationship notwithstanding monetary or social standing of that person. A poor relationship will always leave you unfulfilled. A poor relationship is characterised by the people in it. Relationships are the walls and fences we build around us over time. The values we sow into a relationship show how rich or poor we are. Relationships determine your success and wealth in life not money. Relationship is the place we best display how rich or poor we are. We relate and relay to people from the moment we wake up.

So, in this series, keeping in mind your answer to my question, I wish to look at what makes a person rich or poor and why it is important to address this topic. I aim to:

1. give you the tools that you can use to build your relationships (how you relate & relay to people) upwards and,
2. assess your wealth and success in life.

The word ‘rich’ has been devalued so much that most people thinks of it in terms of money and most believe that money is the only factor to determine poverty. This is untrue. If money was the only factor, people would not refer to someone as “morally bankrupt”. This means that someone can be morally rich or poor. When we look at the word poverty, we rightly imagine lack but only limits this to money. But poverty can be a form of physical or mental impoverishment that makes you believe that, you have absolutely nothing to offer anyone you come in contact with. You disbelieve and look down on yourself. This belief may stem from either being self-centred (selfish, self-interested, ego centric, self-absorbed, self-seeking, narcissistic) or having low self- esteem.

I decided to look at the problems faced by people in relationships and I discovered that it is mostly associated with a feeling or belief that one is receiving less than what they deserve. Sometimes this belief is because we feel entitled to receive even when we are not really sowing anything of value in the other person’s life. When you treat someone poorly, it produces a negative reaction and when you are good it produces a positive reaction. Our actions or inactions in a relationship are seeds. Every seed we sow into a relationship has a name. A seed will either produce something good or something bad. Can I ask you, what seeds you sown in people’s life? This is the reason why you feel either fulfilled or impoverished. Are you known for sowing discord, strength, fear, vision to those who are feeling lost, courage, moral, disorderliness, hate, creativity, direction, build up and never break down, hope, truth, shelter, support, wisdom, knowledge, understanding, security, gracious, humility, pride, forgiveness, arrogance?

If you have kept your seed all to yourself, you have locked yourself out of assessing your true worth in terms of success and wealth. I define success as achieving any goal you set and wealth as how that success has multiplied. I have heard people say someone is totally poor and treat such a person as if they have nothing to offer. How did you arrive at the person’s true worth? Is it because they are:

• Talent poor (no talent to grow or support someone)
• Money poor (assist monetarily in situations or crisis)
• Knowledge poor (share knowledge of a topic or situation to assist others overcome)
• Understanding poor (show interest well enough to understand situations and share this)
• Wisdom poor (show interest in others and guide them wisely)
• Asset poor (give shelter physical or monetary)
• Creativity poor (create something to help someone build)
• Vision poor (give people vision)
• Courage poor (keep cheering someone to success)
• Strength poor (an anchor when someone is struggling)
• Support poor (be there for people)
• Truth poor (people cannot rely on)
• Loyalty poor

People are always looking for someone that can offer something of value. Can a human being be totally poor that they have nothing to offer? No. This is so far from the truth. Mother Theresa lacked money but she sowed into people’s lives. She was successful and wealthy and there are many people like her who may not be world renowned but are remembered by the lives that they have touched. Mother Theresa was rich as she had something of value to share. The bible did not define poverty in terms of money but we have over the course of life believed that without money we have nothing to offer people. Jesus Christ was not described as poor because he shared his healing powers and taught about the kingdom of God. He touched lives and was successful and wealthy.

You cannot rightly determine your success and wealth with no seeds. If making money is your only goal, then by all means pursue it and all that it has to offer but you have to be a philanthropist in order to sow. If sharing knowledge or talent with people is your goal, do so. Set your goals according to the seeds you have within you and not because you want to be like the other person. You can choose to be like the other person if you identify that you have similar gifts but it may not be where you shine the most. For every seed you sow, see it as giving. The whole world is in one big gigantic relationship. The most meaningful relationships involve giving. You must endeavour to impart value into other people’s lives so they become physically or spiritually better off no matter how little a difference you make. Asking someone “how are you?’ does not sow anything into their live neither does a discussion about the weather. To keep receiving without giving is to agree that one is poor. Most ‘rich’ people understand the principle of sowing seeds.

You may say, I have nothing to give because I am too young to give anything. We all have something to give as the bible tells us how Jesus at the age of twelve years interacted and taught at the synagogue. He imparted so much knowledge that the teachers or scribes marvelled. Jesus did not wait to be introduced or to stand on a stage. He shared what he had in him. You may look down on yourself and have never sowed in a person’s life.

What do people see when you walk into a room? If you look down on yourself, likewise people around you will look down on you. I am not talking about having a baseless grandeur; but about values that people can identify with you. If for example you are in a position to hire employees and by doing so, they earn a living, then well done because you have sowed into people’s lives. However, in the absence of being a parent, an employer, a teacher, an evangelist, a pastor, politician, religious teacher, a nanny, philanthropist, talk show host or decision making position that impacts on lives (these are someone of the most direct seed sowing avenues) you must find avenues to express that you are not poor. A nanny, who has raised well behaved and successful people must never look at themselves as poor even when they lack money.

Poverty causes heartaches, a feeling of loss and disappointments. On the other hand, wealth grows us. They are like fertiliser to our mind. So, choose the people you want around you by checking out how rich they are and what seeds they have and are willing to sow in your life. In short, where you are seed poor, this people should be seed rich and where you are seed rich, they could be seed poor: you compliment one another.

Remember, that seeking to enrich yourself does not in any way stop you from expressing love that expects nothing in return. You can love the world but you cannot be a friend of the whole world. Enrichment simply means choosing the right people that you wish to surround yourself with. These people are your fences, acting as protection, privacy, strength and security.

Living a fulfilling life is the pursuit of both the cash rich and cash poor. We make our life relevant by enriching others, and by so doing, we become rich. When you sow into others people’s life do not be apprehensive whether they will soon overtake you in social status. This is looking at life from the wrong angle. Can you imagine the accomplishments felt by mothers, teachers and nannies who raised Presidents, Royalties, Inventors, Entrepreneurs and all other people who overcame one adversary or two in life? You are as rich (successful) as the number of positive seeds you sow into people’s lives. Be upfront and tell people what seeds you have to sow and ask them what they have in their basket too. Outward look may be deceiving.

The changes you seek has to start from you. I thank you and love you with the love of God.

EOMMA

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