The world has made us think that the more you have, the higher you go.  So, your status in life is above those who have less.  I used to think like that until recently, when I found something in the Bible that opened my mind to think otherwise. James 1.

Before explaining further, I have to get you to Solomon, the youngest son of David in the Old Testament.  God said to him, ask for whatever you want me to give you. 2 chronicle 1.

Solomon answered, ‘give me wisdom and knowledge’.  God was impressed by his answer and thinking, so He gave him more than he asked for.   He got what he wanted, and also became the richest man in the world.  But as a human being, when he got more, he ended up wanting more, and that became his problem and downfall.  He had too many women, which was totally outside God’s will.  In the end, when he acknowledged his mistakes and thought things through in Ecclesiastes, he came to a conclusion, that God and his wisdom was the best answer.  You can read the rest of the story yourself.  One thing I like about the Bible is; we get stories God wants us to learn from.  You get to see their ups and downs, weaknesses and strengths, of which we can relate to.

Going back to my eye opening in James 1, it says that, a person in humble circumstances is in a high position, and it goes on to say the one with world riches is in a lower position. Why did James say this?

When it comes to money, most of us are in humble circumstances, we don’t have too much, therefore we are not consumed by self- indulging. Thus we only have the basic necessities, to meet our needs, e.g. a roof over our heads, daily food, etc.

Those who have lots of money, get too many material possessions, which according to Jesus is unnecessary.  This is the issue, when a person gets too much of something they get proud, which is true. And when you’re in that state of mind your position in life becomes relatively weaker.  Comparatively, when it comes to marriage and stability, a person needs one true love, and when it comes to friends just a few will do.  People with so many possessions worry more. Who is going to get their possessions when they had gone?  On the other hand, a person who has little worries less.  So, having too much money, is not good.  And I say it again; it is not good; that’s why the majority of us don’t have much of it.  However, as you know, when you consider another scenario, when someone is too poor to feed themselves, that’s not good either.  As those who have too much are in a small minority, so are those who are too poor.  So thank God that the majority of us are in the middle, we can manage two meals a day.

But the Bible again explains; if you find yourself with a bit too much, give a lot away to the poor. 2 Tim. 6:17-19.  With that attitude you’ll find yourself happier.  Jesus the Master of life says, don’t store up a treasure for yourselves which is going to disappear anyway, but have a godly treasure (wisdom and a gift from God) which will never disappear. Matt. 6:19.  And we learn from him, a person who has God and Jesus is in a better position than one who hasn’t.  And he goes on to say, the love of money is the root of all evil.  He right!!  Look at us; who in this world has not been messed up by money in one way or the other, not to mention stress, selfishness, and greed, apart from exception circumstances? Jesus knew money was going to be one of our biggest problems.  For once we put it in our hearts, it has a way of twisting us in all kinds of directions.

Even though he never had a penny for himself because he was absolutely holy,  he was required to  pay the temple tax.  However,  I find it funny and amazing that he used a fish to pay for it.  Mathew 17:27 

In this secular world as they call it, so much emphasis is placed on saving up for life  insurance purposes, which has become not just a scary process but a big business too. But Jesus says, actually make sure you get saved, and don’t worry about life.

And the conclusion is, money becomes meaningless if it is not used properly to meet our needs, and the needs of others.

I often get questions like; do you believe in destiny?  I totally do; to some extent, simply because, there are things that destined for us and some are based on choices.

There is a saying most people use; to be in a certain place at the wrong time or vice versa. There is so much we have to learn about life; I believe every person we meet or set eyes on is part of our destiny.  For example, when we decide to take a certain route and those people we meet along the way have also decided to do the same.   And in a world of more than  two billion people, we end up meeting a tiny fraction in our life time.  Why do we meet some people and don’t meet others?  I think  every person we spend time with, or know is destined for a reason,  normally as a learning experience.

As you are aware, we take in information the moment we open our eyes, and are good at observing things around us.  We learn from people who are different in nature, cultures, characters and experiences.  Every human being is unique and special. That’s why God made us different so that we can learn from each other.  Someone said, life is a school.  It is so true, and I couldn’t agree more.

The people we are supposed to learn from, or vice versa, are going to come into our lives.  And we can’t even stop it.  God has a way of putting people in our way, especially if it is part of his plan. He did it throughout the Bible.

Much of our life is destined. Take another example, we don’t choose to be born as you know, God made that decision for us. Our parents played a small part. There is a certain point in our development when God puts a soul in us (breath of life ), which manifests itself in order for us to think and operate.  Genesis 2:7

Here is another one, every position of leadership or popularity, especially when dealing with people is destined, which means that  person has been allowed for a reason.  How do we know this? Because God gives time.  Jesus told Pilate, if the position you’re in was not given by God you wouldn’t be in that position.  John 19:11. Therefore, when God destinies you to do something no one can stop it.

Consequently,  when you find yourself in a position where you didn’t get the job, don’t beat yourself up with misery.  It just wasn’t part of your destiny. That means your destiny is another company.  For as you know, a job is not just a job, it is also learning from people and serving.  Everyone of us is so special and different, for we all have something different to put on the table.

And here is another one, which is often asked in the Christian world; are some people chosen to be saved?  The Bible explains God chooses some people to do certain  tasks, for example, the first Israelites were chosen to fulfil his purpose through Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.  After that he made his plan go to another level, whereby  for the rest of us, after the coming of Christ the saviour, we gain salvation by making a decision through him.

Happiness comes:

• when we praise God joyfully.
• when we forgive from the heart.
• when we have a humble attitude.
• when we sing joyfully even in sadness.
• when we get rid of bad thoughts and embrace the good ones.
• when we don’t hold on to the past but embrace the future.
• when we reflect on things that are more important than money.
• when money is not our master but a passing experience.
• when we put worries aside and embrace the strength within.
• when we appreciate all God’s creations in their splendour.
• when we focus on the positives in our lives other than the negatives.
• when we take refuge in God during problems.
• when we accept God’s will in our lives.
• when we focus on giving more other than receiving more.
• when we focus on Jesus’ guidance and take it to heart and actions.
• when we love God from the heart and in actions.
• when we embrace the actions of peace from others.
• when we appreciate our blessings even the little we have.
• when you feel you’ve done your best.
• when we share our faith with someone.
• when we keep life simple by living in peace and tranquillity.
• when we focus on loving each other despite our differences.
• when we treat others the way we would like to be treated.
• when we take a moment to pray and say thank you God.