Poor rich man

Think a minute…He was one of the richest men in the world—but for more than 15 years people did not know what he looked like, or even if he was still alive. Howard Hughes owned and controlled a financial empire that was so powerful it affected the United States government. Yet he lived an extremely lonely, unhappy, half-insane life. 

Hughes was married to a beautiful woman for 13 years, yet they never lived together nor were seen in public together. So it was no surprise that they eventually divorced. A long-time employee who worked for Howard Hughes said: “As far as I know, he never really loved any woman.” After Hughes died, his employees admitted how much they hated working for him. Even with all of his power and limitless money, he could not buy real love and friends. 

Someone said: “No matter how rich you are, you cannot buy anything as fine as a friend.” Remember: “If you live with no real friends, you will die with no real mourners.” Do you have true friends who will greatly miss you when you are gone? Will they cry real tears of grief and loss at your funeral? 

Mother Teresa who ministered to the poor all of her life said: “To have no real friends is the worst poverty.” It’s strange: “A true friend is the most valuable of all our possessions, yet it is the one we usually spend the least time obtaining.” That is why the great writer Emily Dickinson said: “My friends are my estate, so I am greedy to get and keep as many as possible.” Remember, friends are the family you get to choose.

So how rich or poor are you today? Do you have real friends who understand and love you just as you are? Friends you can always count on? Friends who also care enough to tell you the truth about yourself, even if it hurts and risks offending you. 

Friends who will greatly miss you when you’re gone? But most importantly: Is your Maker your friend? Jesus said you can gain the whole world of money, friends and social status, but still lose your real, everlasting life—because you have not chosen to make your Maker your best friend. 

Jesus said you prove He is your closest friend only if you truly love what He loves and live His way every day. Won’t you ask Him to forgive you for loving other people and things more than Him? Then choose to start making Him your very best friend. Just think a minute…

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