Article March 3, 1945 Issue

Riches

ALBERT M. CHENEY

The desire for wealth is almost universal. Since time immemorial, the children of men have longed for worked, sought, and fought for the possession of what they considered wealth, or some form of it, which they assumed would furnish them with a sense of abundance, security, and happiness. A large majority of mankind believe wealth, riches, or financial security to be entirety material, and hold to the conviction, even though it be paradoxical, that the accumulation of material possessions can bring to them the purely mental qualities of peace, happiness, and well-being. Experience has provided the proof in numerous instances, however, that materiality can never bring to anyone the needed good, which can be found only in its opposite, spirituality, whose source is the divine Mind, the source of all good.

A significant story is found in the second chapter of Ecclesiastes. The writer has made the effort to gather unto himself all the treasures, riches, houses, lands, servants, and various forms of entertainment which he hoped would bring gladness of heart and contentment. But the good results were not obtained, and, in reviewing his experiment, he declared (2:11), "Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labour that I had laboured to do: and, behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun."

Sometimes one may have a good home, a good business, ample securities, or a substantial bank account and still feel frustrated and disappointed. But it is well to remember that it is not the ownership of any of these things that brings to the individual a sense of frustration, inharmony, or disappointment. Rather is it the mistaken belief that material riches can of themselves satisfy the craving of mankind for happiness, peace, comfort, and joy which results in bitter disappointment.

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