Psalms 73:3

I was envious at the foolish, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

A popular fallacy exposed

The position I wish to lay down is this:--that the condition of the godly poor even in this world, is far superior to that of the ungodly rich. Public sentiment, I am aware, is against this doctrine; hence the universal struggle to be rich. Hence, too, the popular disregard of goodness as goodness, and the almost contempt for it if found in connection with poverty. Hence the current cant in some districts of the religious world that God’s “dear people “ have the worst portion in this life; that as a rule their situation here is not comparable to that of those who forget God.

I. The wealth of the one is in his hand; that of the other in his heart.

1. The one is of contingent value; the other is of absolute worth.

2. The one is essentially virtuous; the other is not.

3. The one is essentially a blessing; the other often a bane.

4. The one is alienable; the other is not.

II. The greatness of the one is in his circumstances; that of the other in his soul.

1. The one is respected for what he has; the other for what he is.

2. The respect rendered to the one is in proportion to the low state of moral education among the people; not so with the other.

III. The happiness of the one is from without; that of the other is from within.

1. The happiness that springs from without is sensational; the other spiritual.

2. The happiness that springs from without is selfish; the other generous.

3. The happiness that springs from without decreases; the other is ever heightening. (Homilist.)

Our wealth is proportionate to our content

Our incomes should be like our shoes; if too small they will gall and pinch us, but if too large they will cause us to stumble and trip. Wealth, after all, is a relative thing, since he that has little and wants less is richer than he that has much and wants more. True contentment depends not upon what we have, but upon what we would have. A tub was large enough for Diogenes, but a world was too little for Alexander. (The Quiver.)