WEALTHY WITH NOTHING

 

I was thinking this morning.... On my way to attending the burial ceremony of the father of a friend at Oviri-Olomu, a village in Delta State, I passed by several small settlements. I couldn't but notice how peaceful life was for the villagers. No noise or air pollution, nor stress, as their needs are basic. For a split second, I wondered whether city life was worth all the stress.

Good health and peace are the main determinants of wealth. Most people don't appreciate how wealthy they are. A man cannot be wealthy in sickness. It takes a healthy body, mind and soul to be wealthy. You are as rich as your health status. In the face of sickness, material possessions amount to nothing.

Wealth is only yours or of value to a man in great health. When a man gets sick, he loses a part of his wealth. Wealth and sickness are inversely proportional. The sicker one gets, the smaller your wealth.

Think about it. To a poor man with only N10,000, home and abroad, ordinary malaria can wipe out his wealth. To a civil servant with N3 million savings, the onset of Hepatitis B can take his wealth away because it cost over a million (about $1,000) a year to treat the illness. If a billionaire comes down with hemophilia B (a genetic bleeding disorder), his wealth may be eroded fast because Hemgenix (the most expensive medication in the world) cost about $3.5 million (N5.2 billion) for just one treatment.

It takes health to appreciate wealth. At the end of the sickness spectrum is death and when a man dies, the wealth is no longer his but someone else's. Herbert Wigwe was estimated to be worth $65.2 million (about N100 billion), while his wife, Chizoba, was estimated to be worth $1 million. With their unfortunate demise, no one will say Herbert is a wealthy man. The wealth is no longer his but now belongs to someone else.

No wonder Luke 12:15 says "one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.” Wealth is measured by a healthy body, mind and soul. If you are alive and healthy, be thankful, because you are a wealthy man, even if you have no money in your pocket. Adieu to the Wigwes.

Stay hopeful. God's got our back.

Happy Sunday!

......Just the thoughts of a certain Wey Mey