"Better the poor whose walk is
blameless than the rich whose ways are perverse." (Proverbs 28:6, NIV2)
Are the rich truly free of worry? Or is it possible
they are a bit more distressed than most commoners like you and me?
Let's think about it. Being rich is not easy at all.
You have constant worry -- about your possessions, your protection, your
investments ... It never ends! Imagine having to hire a multitude of personnel
to guarantee a semi-quasi "peaceful" and less-stressful life! Lawyers,
tax-consultants, insurance agents, investment advisers, body guards ... This
list could go on and on.
"Jesus looked at him and said, 'How hard it is for the
rich to enter the kingdom of God!'" (Luke 18:24, NIV2)
When oil was found in Pithole, Pennsylvania, in 1865,
it attracted a lot of people whose only goal was to get rich quick. But they
soon realized there was a price tag attached to their dream. Equipment was
costly, rent was costly, the parcel of "promised" land was costly, food was more
costly in this neighbourhood than anywhere else, barrels were costly, and even
the transport of oil barrels was costly.
It's true that at first the transport fee was
feasible: 1$ per barrel, which would be somewhere in the neighborhood of 20$ in
our day and age. But almost overnight the charge tripled to 3$ a barrel! Oh,
there was a "good" reason behind the price increase: Carrying 360 pound barrels
over steep, muddy trails shortened the lives of the horses and mules employed in
this endeavour. And since they worked non-stop around the clock, they needed to
be replaced regularly!
(Wait. What about the plight of these poor animals?)
Then came Samuel Van Syckel, who saw an opportunity to
become rich by cutting the cost of transportation back to 1$ a barrel. And he
wouldn't need the help of donkeys or horses! Instead he built 5.5 miles of 2
inch wrought iron pipe, from Pithole to Oil Creek. In fact, he was the first one
to successfully transport oil via a pipeline!
Until lengths of the pipe mysteriously were torn up in
the dark, that is. It seems he had made some enemies with the rough, tough
teamsters who ended with no more cargo or dying horses!
No problem, armed guards were hired to patrol the
line.
And you can well imagine that this was not the end of
the story. More complications were foreseen in the near future. We are talking
about the mighty dollar after all!
Being rich isn't really a piece of pecan pie (My
favourite desert!). Furthermore, the rich still have to wonder, like any of us:
"What can anyone give in exchange for their soul?" (Mark 8:37, NIV2).
After all, money can buy neither peace nor happiness!
Rob Chaffart
The Illustrator: This daily newsletter is dedicated to encouraging
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