According to Forbes Magazine, Warren Buffet was until recently, the second richest man in the world. He has now been overtaken by Carlos Slim Helu, the Mexican telecommunications billionaire who has also overtaken Bill Gates of Microsoft Corp.
Not so long ago, Mr. Buffet pledged to give away nearly 30 billion dollars to charity or charitable causes over the course of ten years. According to Forbes, he was worth nearly 37 billion dollars at the time. And guess which foundation he chose to give the charity? You guessed right – The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. No need to remind you that at the time, Bill Gates was still the richest man in world.
When asked by a reporter why he gave so much money away after struggling all his life looking for it, his reply was: “All this time I was looking for it just to give it all away”.
This is baffling, wouldn’t you agree? After reading this, I was baffled and for a long time I pondered over this statement made by Warren Buffet. I mean; most of us spend years; perhaps our entire lifetimes, just trying to make-ends-meet. And here is a man who says that he looked for so much money just to give it all away!
As a reminder, the entire population of the world today is just over 6 billion people. If you divide 30 billion dollars over this figure, it doesn’t take a mathematician to figure out that each one us would walk away with over 5 dollars. This is a significant amount considering that in the poorest countries of the world, the average human being lives by less than a dollar per day.
After this, I asked myself several questions:
Who Am I?
Where did I come from?
Why Am I here?
What is the meaning of life?
Where Am I going?
Well, if somebody can make so much money only to give it away, it doesn’t take long to figure out that there must be something better than money out there; something perhaps more valuable than money or material wealth.
But what is that thing? I will leave you to figure that out but I will not leave without a clue.
One thing that comes to mind is loneliness. You see, it is very lonely up there! Most of the people I have talked to about how it feels like to be one of the richest man or woman in the world have replied nearly unanimously that you become more and more lonely as you go up there. And the fear of becoming lonely can sometimes be very terrifying!
Another reason that can prompt a man or woman to give away so much money is the realization that there are other things more valuable than money. In fact, many people struggle all their lives seeking money and material wealth only to discover the hard way that they have earned the money and wealth at the expense of the most valuable things in life such as happiness, love, good health, peace of heart, friendship, companionship, etc.
Please don’t misunderstand me. It is not pleasant to be poor or broke, and certainly, you cannot be happy when you are poor and broke. I have been poor and broke and I have also been rich and I have been unhappy on both occasions, but I prefer to be rich. Seek wealth and happiness
by any means but once you get it do not neglect to do the most important things in life and that is to share your wealth with your friends and the less fortunate in society. This way you will retain the most valuable things in life such as happiness, love, good health, peace of heart, satisfaction, friendship, companionship etc.
The third reason is the fear of death, the unknown and the afterlife. Very little is known about life after death. Fear of the unknown and the prospects of the afterlife can motivate people to try and make peace with themselves and with others, by whatever means possible, because frankly, no one has died and come back to life to tell the tale. If such a man or woman does exist, then they are very few indeed. Most religions, Christianity in particular, teaches about being rewarded after death – good reward (heaven) if you have done well on earth, and punishment (hell) if you have done evil.
Ernest Hemingway, one of the greatest writers of all time, lived his entire life without acknowledging the existence of God. Just before he died aged 61, this is what he had to say:
“When you are sixty one and you are dying, it is very imperative that
you begin to learn something about death and the afterlife”.
Certainly live your life abundantly, but do not neglect the more important things in life. Life on earth is very short but we are informed by many religions that the afterlife is eternity. As you go
about seeking money, wealth and happiness do not neglect to learn more about this important part of your life.
To learn more about this subject and to get answers of questions such as 'Who Am I?', 'Where do I come from?', 'Why Am I here?' and 'Where Am I going?' please watch Dr. Kent Hovind's extraordinary videos downloadable from his web site at: http://www.drdino.com/.
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