“You want to get rich . . . in order that you may surround yourself with beautiful things, see distant lands, feed your mind, and develop your intellect; in order that you may love others and do kind things, and be able to play a good part in helping the world to find truth.”
–Wallace D. Wattles

Setting:  First Baptist Church in Morehead, Kentucky, immediately following the Sunday morning service, about three years ago.
Characters:  Betty (not her real name), Margaret (not her real name), and Debra (Me – my real name)

It’s cold outside, so Debra is putting on her coat when she is approached by Betty.

Betty:  Debra, do you have a couple of minutes for me to share with you a mission that I’ve taken on for one of our local college students?

Debra:  Sure, Betty.  What’s up?

Betty:  Well, there’s this young couple – they’ve been married a couple of years and they are expecting their first baby in a couple of months.  They are from [some country that has a King, I can’t remember where – please forgive me!] and the King has frozen all monetary transfers out of the country.  Their parents cannot send them any money, they are both working while going to school, but they need money for health insurance.  The way their current policy is set up, the mother is covered, but not the baby, so as soon as it is born, they will have astronomical medical expenses if they don’t take out a new policy.

Debra:  How much do they need?

Betty: They’ve raised most of the money on their own, but they are just a little under $300 short, so I’m trying to help them come up with $300.  Three other ladies here at the church have given me $20 each, so I have $60.  Could you help out with another $20?

Debra:  I’ll give you $100 . . .

Debra sees Margaret enter the vicinity and knows that Margaret could spare $100 and would probably have a soft heart for this young woman as well . . .

Debra:   . . . and I’ll bet Margaret could give you another $100.

Margaret:  What?

Debra:  Betty, tell Margaret what you just told me.

Betty explains the situation to Margaret as Debra takes out her checkbook.

Margaret:  Sure, I’ll give you $100.  But is that all you need?  If Debra and I each give you $100, do you have the other $100?

Betty:  Oh, I’ve already collected $60, and I can put the rest in myself!

Betty turns to Debra as Margaret gets out her checkbook.

Betty:  Oh, thank you, Debra.  You’ve made this so easy for me, I can hardly believe I have all the money already.  I thought I’d be spending all afternoon and next week on the phone.  They really are good people and such a nice couple.  I know their parents are going to be so relieved.  Would you like to meet the young lady sometime to see that they really are deserving?

Debra:  No, no, Betty.  That’s okay.  If you say that they’re good people and they need this money, that’s good enough for me.  I’m glad I am able to help.

Margaret: Me, too.  As she hands a check to Betty.

Betty:  Thank you, Margaret.  And thank you both, again, so much. 

Betty wipes tears from her eyes and looks at Debra and Margaret as if they are angels.

Margaret is immediately distracted by the approach of her granddaughter: “Grandma!”

Margaret:  Hi, Sweetie!  How was Sunday school?  The $100 check is immediately forgotten.

Debra smiles, feeling good that she had helped right a wrong, then turns to meet her husband and friends who are waiting by the door to go to lunch.  She never mentions the $100 to anyone expect her husband, who records the check.

End of Scene

God is in us.  By giving us all the resources He has, He is entrusting us to protect them, use them wisely, and share them with others when He tells us to do so.

Wattles says it like this:

God, the One Substance, is trying to live and do and enjoy things through humanity.  He is saying “I want hands to build wonderful structures, to play divine harmonies, to paint glorious pictures.  I want feet to run my errands, eyes to see my beauties, tongues to tell mighty truths and to sing marvelous songs,” and so on.

God expresses Himself through us, His children, and what father doesn’t want his children to have everything he is capable of giving them?  If you believe that everything belongs to God, the Universe, Source energy, etc., and that God has a right to do with His resources as He sees fit, then who are you to refuse His blessings?  Who are you to say, “No thanks, God.  I’d rather be poor, I know that’s what You really want.  You don’t want me to have all Your blessings because if You did, you would have made me smarter, prettier, healthier, You know, more deserving.  But You didn’t, so don’t try to make it up to me now, God, by giving me all these things.”

Sound familiar? 

Not to me – I wanna be RICH!  I am gorgeous, healthy, intelligent, and READY TO RECEIVE!!!  If you are as well, keep reading.

So how, then, do we get ourselves to a place where we are open to God’s blessings?

This is the second step to getting rich:  Be grateful for what you already have.

Yes, if you’re familiar with The Secret and/or you saw the first Oprah show on the Secret, then you’ve heard this before:  An Attitude of Gratitude.  Let’s explore why this is so important, and how we can maintain an attitude of gratitude.

Focusing on what you’re grateful for helps keep your mind off the mundane, off of your dissatisfaction with the way things are.  It’s one way of controlling your thoughts, which Wattles tells us is step one.  Post signs and symbols of gratitude throughout your house, and where you work.  Be constantly thanking God for everything He has trusted you with this far.

After reading this book, I changed my screen saver to read, “Right now, I am grateful for . . .”  Now, every time it comes on, or every time I walk back into my office, I’m reminded to thank God for something.  I have yet to come up with nothing, and that’s not a testament to me – that’s a testament to our Creator, giver of all things.

Wattles also reminds us, “And because all things have contributed to your advancement, you should include all things in your gratitude.”  On the Oprah show, the subject came up of, “What about when bad things happen to us – like really horrible things that someone did to us - are we supposed to be thankful for those?”  The answer is to say this, “I thank you for that experience.”  Every experience we have has taught us something and has played a role in making us who we are, and who we are becoming.  Remember back in high school or college when you had easy courses and difficult courses?  Some of life’s lessons are more difficult than others, but we must learn them in order to grow.    

With all that being said however, do not focus your mind on “tough lessons.”  Instead, focus your attention on the best, surround yourself with the best, and you will become the best.  Surround yourself with the qualities you desire, give thanks for each quality as you attain it, and you will attain all the qualities you desire and are grateful for.  Wattles says it like this:

The grateful mind is constantly fixed upon the best.  Therefore it tends to become the best.  It takes the form or character of the best, and will receive the best.

Be grateful.  This is the second step to getting rich.

Your Assignment

Start a Gratitude Journal.  I have a special notebook just for this purpose.  Write down everything that is currently in your life experience for which you are grateful.  Then, and this is really powerful, write down everything for which you would be grateful, if God decided to trust you with it.  Do not question whether you are worthy and do not try to figure out, on your own, how you would attain it.  Just write down your desires as if God is sending them to you right now.  Then, as your desires begin to materialize, be sure to thank God for them.

Posted under Education, Inspiration, Leadership, Motivation