Posted on 01/12/2019 7:24:59 AM PST by Kaslin
This is not a slam on Jeff Bezos, either explicitly or implicitly. This is not an attack on the rich. Or on liberals. Or on any other group of people.
All kinds of people have marital problems. Evangelical Christians commit adultery. Conservatives divorce and remarry. Poor people experience broken homes.
All this is self-evident and needs no documentation.
The sobering lesson is that, as the Beatles sang, money can’t buy us love. Or peace. Or contentment. Or a stable marriage. Or a sense of purpose. Or morality. Or freedom from inner demons.
In fact, it’s often true that the more we have, the less content we are.
To be clear, poverty is not the key to happiness. Or peace. Or contentment. Or marital stability. Far from it.
Poverty is draining and demeaning. Poverty is burdensome. Poverty, in and of itself, is anything but a blessing.
On the flip side, I don’t know anyone who thinks, “If only I were poor! Then I’d be happy and content.”
Hardly.
But I know many who think, “If only I had more money! If only I were rich! Then I’d be happy and content.”
Not so.
As Jesus warned, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions” (Luke 12:15).
He also gave a warning to those who “[store] up things for themselves but [are] not rich toward God” (Luke 12:21).
The real question, then, is, are we rich toward God? Are we rich on the inside? That’s the key to contentment, joy, purpose – and a healthy marriage.
Some of the most content children I have ever met were kids aged 3-15 who lived in a children’s home in India. Some were orphans. Others came from families experiencing great hardship who were unable to care for their children.
These kids had a school uniform to wear and one additional set of clothing. They had no cell phones. No TVs. No computers.
They slept on the floor (more recently, they sleep on mattresses, several kids to each mattress), and they ate three simple meals a day.
But they were taught to love God. They were taught to pray and read the Bible. They were taught to love the poor and needy. To be compassionate. To respect their elders. To be wholesome.
They were not under pressure to dress a certain way or wear their hair a certain way or model themselves after the latest pop star.
Yet their smiles could light up the room, and along with getting the very best education offered in their entire community, they have gone on to productive careers, from pastors to medical doctors and from professors to homemakers.
The Book of Proverbs reminds us of what really matters with pithy sayings like this: Better a little with the fear of the Lord than great wealth with turmoil. Better a small serving of vegetables with love than a fattened calf with hatred” (Prov 15:16-17).
And this: “Better a little with righteousness than much gain with injustice” (Prov 16:8).
Who would argue with this?
There’s something else that the Bezos divorce brings to mind (and, to repeat, this is not an attack on the man; I pray for God’s best for his life).
Beauty doesn’t bring happiness. Having a trophy wife or a stud husband doesn’t bring marital bliss.
In fact, often, it’s the rich and famous who struggle the most with self-image (just talk to a famous model about the internal battles many of them face). And often, it’s those who have access to anything, who have the most gorgeous men and women at their beck and call, who have the least long-term contentment.
Here’s some more wisdom from Proverbs.
“Better a dry crust with peace and quiet than a house full of feasting, with strife” (Prov 17:1).
Who could argue with this?
Or this: “Better the poor whose walk is blameless than a fool whose lips are perverse’ (Prov 19:1).
What price can you put on integrity? Or morality?
And who could argue with this? “Better to live on a corner of the roof than share a house with a quarrelsome wife [or, husband]” (Prov 21:9).
The point of all this is simple.
Let’s focus on our inner person more than on outward appearance.
Let’s give more attention to the quality of our relationships than to the quantity of our possessions.
Let’s put our emphasis on getting our spiritual houses in order before we pursue our earthly dreams.
Then, whether we’re rich or poor. Whether we’re famous or unknown. Whether we’re beautiful or homely. We can be blessed and content. Our marriages can be strong. Our families can be whole. And we can go to sleep at night with peace and wake up in the morning with purpose.
Is there anything more important than that?
When we were young, we’d admire all the wealthy homes in our town when we’d drive by them. Then we’d hear my parents talking about all the strife inside those homes.
Another lesson I think its in proverbs but I might be mistaken - Its better to have a small package that is never sent than delivering an image of large package.
As years went by, we had neighborhood reunions and stories came out. Abuse. Psych problems. Divorce. Adultery
Alcoholism. Failures. All covered up by money and things. Us too of course.
I remember as a 13 year old, sitting at the bar in the country club, watching my day B.S. with other members. A metanoia, a resolve, soul changing event occurred in those minutes. How, hypocritical. How phony. How boring. How not for me.
I became a rebel, able to walk comfortably in any strata of society. I have had adventures unlike any with whom I played as a child.
Essay hit home for me personally.
Many of the articles written about this sad story talk as if it’s his money. It’s their money. And in my opinion he’s trading in a thoroughbred for a nag. It seems as if Sanchez has been sleeping her way to the top all of her career. Bezos is blinded by sex and this will not have a happy ending. Eventually she’ll find someone she likes better and then she will get half of his half. Mackenzie in the mean time will be living very well.
Bezos sent pics of his “parts?”...omg...what a Moron
Reminds me of the club scene from the movie Brigadoon.
His personal business, not ours. I personally care less.
You are correct. It’s his business, and no one elses
That’s right. what an unbelievable dumbass.
“Too many words for a very simple lesson: Don’t Cheat! Honor your marriage vows.”
Also honor your marriage vows the other direction. Nothing is as lonely as a marriage where one denies affection and sex to the other.
That is just as bad as cheating.
“She was married to him at the start and she’s there to the end, she get’s half!”
True, even though she had zero to do with creating the fortune. Women always glom onto what a man created and loot what they can. The law says they can, so they accept it as just and deserved.
You got it.
When taking a picture of your Wee Wee to send to your Girlfriend, don’t use a Wide Angle Lens?
I’m with you. He could have had some fun now. But he is going for an homely woman pushing 50? Maybe she is interesting or something. It’s obvious he wasn’t just after top shelf hotties.
LOL...
Popeye? I see Gene Hackman’s version of Lex Luther.
Reading some of this reminds me of Dean Martin and his marital woes.
Dean’s first wife ended up becoming a alcoholic and he divorced her and married Jeanne, his best known wife that I believe he really loved. They got custody of the kids of the first wife and went on to have kids themselves. They ended up raising 8 kids.
Well Dean got the mid-life crisis, divorced Jeanne and married some young girl in her 20’s. That lasted about 3 years until Dean came to his senses and realized what a mistake he had made.
So what happened, he went back to Jeanne, they never remarried, but they did stay together until he died.
Moral here, Jeff Bezos is another rich guy having the Mid-Life Crisis, my guess is he will never be happy and his current girl friend won’t last.
He reminds me of Kevin Spacey’s retarded brother.
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