Trusting Within Self?

TRUSTING WITHIN SELF? WHAT SHALL I DO?

By Wade Martin Hughes, Sr. Kyfingers@aol.com

TRUST OURSELVES? WHAT SHALL I DO? CONSIDER RICH PAUPERS?

I read many years ago about a man. The man’s law firm had been very successful and made him millions of dollars. He was known in the political circles of his day. He was a friend to governors and community leaders. He and his beautiful wife built a huge mansion on a high hill and when people drove by they were very impressed. The bankers in the area knew him when he walked into the banks. He had fancy cars, Cadillacs, Mercedes, Corvettes, customized vans, all stored in huge garages behind his house. He and his wife had the best of everything. One day the lawyer’s beloved wife passed away and life was forever changed. The man had tasted success in every arena of life. But now he was getting older and he withdrew from society and became a hermit. He very rarely left the mansion on the hill. He seemed to have everything and yet he seemed to have nothing. He never talked to anyone and he never answered his phone. His nest egg of wealth grew and grew. He seldom was seen in town. The lawyer lost weight and became very frail. He was so concerned someone would steal his money or take advantage of him. So he lived an isolated life.

One terrible windy, cold and snowy day his next door neighbor and his wife were talking that there were no tracks in the snow and they were worried about the old man. So they called the local police for a wellness check. The old man never answered his phone so they dispatched two officers to the mansion. There was no response to the door bell and knocking. The officers looked in the windows and saw no signs of life. So they broke out a small window and went in to

search for the man. They found no food in the kitchen and the water pipes were frozen. After a brief search they found the frozen body of the old man under many blankets laying on top of the gas floor furnace. The man’s body was under the blankets. There was an investigation as to why the rich man froze to death.

The furnace was in good working order. The thermostat was turned as low as it would go. The propane gas tank was almost full. After much research it was recorded the man did not want to burn the expensive gas, so he lay on top of the furnace and let the heat from the pilot of the furnace and all the blankets covered him to keep him warm. The pilot was still burning, just the temperatures were so cold that the small flame and blankets could not keep him warm.

His bank saving accounts were maxed out at all the area banks. The man had everything. He was known by all the VIP’s. YET HE LIVED AS A PAUPER. HIS WEALTH WAS USELESS. HE DIED LIKE A POOR STREET PERSON UNDER A BRIDGE.

He had no family, no friends --- HE HAD EVERYTHING, YET HE HAD NOTHING… A POOR, POOR RICH MAN.

He could have helped the local churches and never missed a penny of his great wealth? He could have helped missions? He could have invested in education? HE DIED AS A POOR PAUPER? His deposits were worthless? His gloom and distrust made him a prisoner in his own home.

WHAT IS A PAUPER? WHO IS THE POOREST PERSON YOU KNOW?

PAUPER: A very poor person. A person that is destitute of means except derived from charity.

I WOULD SAY ONE OF THE POOREST PEOPLE ON THE FACE OF THE EARTH IS A PERSON THAT HAS NO HOPE.

Life has crushed them and destroyed not just their dream but their dreaming ability.

HE THOUGHT WITHIN HIMSELF…

WHAT AM I GOING TO DO? THEN WHOSE SHALL THOSE THINGS BE?

WHAT IS IMPORTANT TO ME? FOR WHAT SHALL I BE REMEMBERED?

What is covetousness? A feeling of strong desire for something you do not have that many others have.

Craving for possessions--- COLD HEARTEDNESS?

Luke 12:15 And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth. 16 And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: 17 And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? 18 And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. 20 But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? 21 So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.