“Money for Heaven’s sake!”
When Hettie Green died in 1916 she was worth between two and five billion dollars in today’s money. She was the richest woman of her time. She was born into a wealthy Quaker family that owned a fleet of whaling ships but became an expert investor in her own right. Her financial philosophies were simple: Know what you are buying, buy low after sleeping on it, sell high when everyone is buying like crazy, and have massive cash reserves so you can lend when others are desperate. It was probably her austere appearance more than anything that earned her the nickname, “The Witch of Wall Street.” She also believed that you should waste nothing. The Guinness Book of Records hasn’t dubbed her the “greatest miser,” for nothing. She wore the same old black dress until it wore out, never heated her apartment, and her diet consisted of eggs, onions, and dry oatmeal. It is said (though myths abound) that since Hettie was too mean to pay to for her son to a doctor, and the staff at the free health clinic didn’t repair his leg properly, it had to be amputated later in life.
What drives people to fiscal madness? It is well established that misery abides at the extremes of ‘too much’ and ‘too little,’ but those in between do not exactly exude excessive joy, either. The modern philosophy of: ‘Spend more than you earn and borrow the rest!’ isn’t exactly a recipe for success. Jesus tells it plainly, ‘You cannot serve God and wealth’ (Matthew 6:24), so, chose wisely. Paul says, ‘If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content’ (1 Timothy 6:8). He could have at least thrown in a roof over our head for good measure. God’s point is simple: If you want joy and contentment, then understand who made (John 1:3) and sustains (Hebrews 1:3) everything. Simply invest your life in that which matters: “The Kingdom of God” (Matthew 6:33), and all your “needs will be met…according to His riches” (Philippians 4:19). “Make friends for yourselves by means of the wealth of unrighteousness, so that when it fails, they will receive you into the eternal dwellings (Luke 16:9). Money will one day burn up. But in the meantime, as stewards of all, including this ‘unrighteous’ resource, use your money for Heaven’s sake!