Again I saw it on social media, a young man on bed in the hospital all wired to a medical equipment, trying to survive and appealing to the general public to please help keep him alive. He was in urgent need of kidney transplant, and the whole treatment would cost about six million naira. Hence, the passionate appeal to well-meaning Nigerians and kind hearted people to please donate and support him by paying cash into a specified bank account.
I read through, felt really sorry for the man and
shook my head in lamentation. It's not the first, second or third of such
appeal I would come across in the last one year or so.
People appealing to the general public to help
save lives of fellow Nigerians who have suddenly taken ill and are in dire need
of urgent medical attention, if not they may die. How much? Six million, just
six million naira. Hmmn
I know very many Nigerians who have worked very
hard and made money and wouldn't even flinch paying six million to save this
man's life.
I'm not talking about those who stole public
funds, stole from their employers or indulged in crime to make money, no, I'm
talking about responsible, hardworking and honest Nigerians who worked for
their money and indeed can afford to give the whole six million without
breaking a sweat.
To some Nigerians, I mean honest Nigerians, six
million naira is not a lot of money. Now I imagine you would assume, I would
criticise them for their unwillingness or reluctance to support such a man in
need of this surgery. No, I'm not gong that route, my lesson from this story is
to challenge us that at times we need to be very sincere and objective and
commit to carrying our own burdens.
I know many people and I've heard many people
sound like having an ambition to be very rich is a bad thing. They paint this
picture as though the desire and effort to have a lot of money is unnecessary,
vain and carnal. They label financially ambitious people as greedy and
materialistic. They say stuff like “what do you need so much money for? Once
you can feed, clothe, have a roof over your head and pay your basic bills everything
else is greed and unnecessary” They say. They make all rich people appear
greedy and make being rich appear sinful. They even make it look like God
prefers the poor to the rich. Hmm
But you see, there are many ways to look at a
matter, people have different motives and reasons for their ambition. As you
can label all rich people as greedy, you can also judge all poor people as
lazy. Meanwhile it is not every rich person that is greedy and definitely not
every poor person that is lazy.
In my opinion, a greedy man is not a man that has
made so much more money than he can spend, a greedy man is not that man that
has acquired money exceedingly and abundantly above that which he can spend in
his lifetime, no, that's not a greedy man. A greedy man is that man who is
desperate to have money and wouldn't mind employing wicked and illegitimate
means to achieving this.
So greed is not about how much you have, greed is
actually the evil you did or can do to make money; greed is when you make money
illegitimately. Greed is not about the quantity but the method.
No matter how rich you are, if you did not employ
wicked, illegitimate and dishonest means to making your money, you are not
greedy.
And no matter how poor you are, if the little you
have was obtained through illegitimate, wicked or dishonest means, you are a
greedy fellow. Greed is not how much you have, it's what you did to acquire it.
When you legitimately acquire very much more than
you can finish spending in your life time, you are not greedy, you are actually
blessed.
Dear friend, stop condemning, criticising,
judging and labelling all rich people as dishonest or corrupt people. You
should desire and aspire to become legitimately rich as well. The reason many
of us are not so rich today is because we disdain the rich and you can never
attract into your life what you disdain.
What do I need so much money for you may ask, I
don't need to be rich, I just want to be comfortable, dear friend don't deceive
yourself, you can never be comfortable without being rich, it doesn't work like
that, only the rich are truly comfortable. Only the rich need not beg for
public help to pay medical bills.
Ladies and gentlemen, in this life, there are
some questions life will throw at you, some serious situations that would arise
that only plenty of money can answer well.
Truth be told, when you need serious money to
solve critical problems that could even be life threatening, hardly would you
find anyone that will bail you out completely. All you'll hear are stories on
how you should have asked earlier, how they also have their own problems and
how you should come back next week or next month – a never ending come back
situation.
Let's face the reality, when you need a lot of
money, it's hard to find one individual that will give you everything. Even
religious organisations have their own stories and excuses. They will pray hard
for you O, but hardly will they give you all the money you need.
The reason you should strive and work hard to
become rich is to avoid disgrace, embarrassment, ridicule and loss when life
challenges arise that require serious spending.
Any problem that money cannot solve, only God can
solve it. Poverty is not humility, being broke is not spirituality.
Money is power, money is relevance, money is
protection; no one is interested in your ideas, views, suggestion or opinion
even within your family circle if you're broke.
Most people that criticise and condemn the rich
do it out of envy, spite or jealousy not because the legitimately rich have
wronged them in anyway.
Many people struggling financially hate to think
legitimate wealth is possible, hence, they label every rich person a crook, a
thief, a cheat or as corrupt; they don't bother about how some rich people have
really struggled, endured tough times and paid legitimate price to become rich.
They judge everyone indiscriminately.
Yes, there are so many things money cannot do,
but I assure you what money can't do, poverty can't do either hence, poverty is
not a superior alternative to riches. I assure you whatever money can't do,
poverty can dare not attempt.
Ladies and gentlemen, I encourage you to be rich
not to feed your materialism but to secure your life and also be a blessing to
others. Money makes you feel safe, protected and peaceful in this life. A high
bank balance most times equals a peaceful state of mind.
Money is a defence in life. Many have died of
little things like malaria, typhoid, childbirth, ordinary headache, simple
accidents and minor injuries cos they couldn't pay for quality health care.
Stop bragging in lack, stop criticizing the rich,
you can't become anything you disdain.
Ladies and gentlemen, the reason why you may
disdain the rich is perhaps because you don't know how to become rich. You've
tried everything you know and it appears not to be working, hence you conclude
its only crime, corruption and dishonesty that can make anyone rich.
Let me tell you this. The main difference between
the legitimately rich and the poor is not hard work or qualifications, luck or
destiny, it is relevant knowledge and information.
The rich buy and pay heavily for relevant
information and knowledge, but the poor spend on pretence, cover up, make
believe and false hood.
The rich invest in things that would grow their
riches like financial and business training, seminars, workshops, investments,
shares, bonds, and good business opportunities, the poor however, invest in
tangible material stuff that would make people think they are rich.
The poor invest in expensive clothes, expensive
shoes, expensive watches, expensive phones, expensive vacations, expensive cars
and every expensive stuff to make statements, though they have sub-zero bank
balances and owe many people, they would rather invest in appearing rich. They
invest in falsehood, they spend to look rich; they don't spend on what will
make them truly rich. They spend on things that would make people think they
are rich.
Being rich is not just what you have, it's who
you are. It's what you know. Riches is the ability to create wealth in any
situation through relevant information and knowledge. Being rich is not really
in buying plenty stuff.
Dear friends, the ability to
create wealth comes through knowledge. Pay for knowledge and information on how
to make legitimate income and you will be rich. Dear friend, pay the price
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