True Wealth

August 20, 2008

By Randy Mantik

Upon exiting college in 1984, my options were quite limited. I ended up finding work doing services. No, not in churches, but for a bank. Office Services was the department I worked for.

“What’s that?” you ask.

Have you ever heard of a janitor being called a sanitary engineer? Office Services was a nice name for messenger. I delivered mail, meals, and all sorts of stuff at a large bank in

Minneapolis.

One of the upsides of my job was that the owner of the bank also owned the Minnesota Twins. Because of that, I ended up getting tickets to the All Star game at the Metrodome. It was pretty cool.

But I learned a lot in my time as a messenger, particularly when it came to separating fact from fiction concerning jobs and wages. As a messenger I could earn a whopping $12,000 a year. So I was always checking for other places to work in the bank for higher wages. As I looked, I noticed some officer-level jobs I wasn’t qualified for earned $40,000, $50,000 or $60,000 a year — a lot of money nearly 25 years ago.

However, by being all over the bank, I got to know some of those guys well enough to see that the higher pay didn’t just land them in large, corner offices where they could roll around on cushy leather chairs all day drinking coffee. The bank expected much from them for those wages. I saw a few guys who couldn’t take it and accepted lower-paying positions.

I learned from that experience that more money does not solve all your problems. A job with a higher wage will not make you happier. It could be that job will expect more from you than you can deliver. Wealth is not synonymous with joy. In fact, wealth may make joy harder to find.

In contrast with the earthly, material wealth I’ve been describing, there is another kind of wealth that does bring true joy. The wise Solomon talks of it.

“The blessing of the Lord makes rich, and he adds no sorrow with it” (Proverbs 10:22 NRSV).

There is a heavenly reward that will outweigh any earthly recompense. And in this life God showers us with blessings far more valuable than money. If you’re making some decision today that involves money, keep this in mind. Find value in the precious relationships God has given you. Rejoice in your identity as a member of the body of Christ. Take every opportunity to live out the love of the Savior to everyone around you. In the end, it is people who are of the greatest value.

— Randy Mantik is lead pastor at CrossPoint AG in Portage, Wis.