Inspiration and Life

Understanding the Three Types of Wealth

The most important kind of wealth

What is your view of wealth? Do you see it merely as money and possessions, or do you see it in a broader sense? What if I told you, you could be wealthy regardless of what you own? You have in your possession the potential to create wealth beyond anything you have imagined, in ways you may not have considered. Let’s broaden our perspective on what true wealth means.

Three views of wealth

At least three fundamental views of wealth exist. They are the wealth:

1. In what you possess

2. In who you are

3. That transcends the natural world

The first type of wealth is external, the second internal, and the third supernatural.

External wealth

To simply view wealth as what you possess, as in how much money you have, is shortsighted. Yes, wealth in today’s society leans toward being defined as money and possessions. Yet, there are countless stories of people who have had such wealth in vast amounts and have been unhappy and unable to hold on to it.

Inherited wealth is one such example. Did you know 70% of families lose their wealth by the second generation and 90% by the third! Yes, those are shocking statistics, but they make sense.

The first generation became wealthy not because they had money but because of what they did with their life and who they became. You can’t inherit the “what” that made them achieve so much. Even when the parents are actively involved in their children’s lives, they may or may not acquire the necessary abilities. It is unlikely that they will ever become who their parent was. Attempting to create a child in your image often fails because they are not you and will eventually go their own way. Ask any parent, and they will confirm this!

Another example is when someone becomes wealthy in a monetary sense by suddenly winning the lottery or attaining great wealth because of their talent in sports. The Review of Economics and Statistics Volume 93, Issue 3, states lottery winners declare bankruptcy far more often than an average American and do so within three to five years. The National Endowment for Financial Education claims the bankruptcy rate for lottery winners is 70% within a few years!

According to Broke, a film produced by ESPN, 60% of former NBA players lose all of their money within five years. Additionally, 78% of NFL players go bankrupt or wind up in severe financial stress within only two years of retirement!

Yes, wealth is far more than money and material things. Money alone can never make us happy, but how we live our lives and great relationships can create immense wealth.

“Is happiness equated to wealth, money, possessions, or is it value you find in doing your job well, having a loving family, your health, and an inner peace?” Byron Pulsifer (1950-present)

Internal wealth

Let’s now look at where that external wealth originated — on the inside. Who you are, your internal capabilities and capacities outweigh and are far more valuable than any external wealth. When you possess inner wealth, you can always create external wealth. It is, therefore, more essential to work on yourself and who you are becoming than on the external.

The ability to create wealth and maintain it are entirely different aspects of who you are. To develop and keep external wealth, you must be internally rich in knowledge, wisdom, experience, skills, and so forth. Few people excel at creating and maintaining material wealth. If this ability were not so rare, there would be far more people with plenty of money in the world.

There is little more important than working on yourself. To work on who you are and who you are becoming, creating wealth on the inside is the only sensible way to create external wealth if that is what you desire. Simply put, the ability to create wealth comes from within before it can be created in the world.

“Real worth is something that’s already in us. If we know that, we are already wealthy beyond measure. If we don’t, no amount of money, fame, or success can give it to us.” C.J. Kruse (1948-present)

Spiritual wealth

A perspective you can take of spiritual wealth is it is beyond the internal and external. You will often hear that we are a spirit, have a soul, and live in a body.

The spiritual far exceeds the value of any material thing. Why? Because the spiritual realm extends beyond this physical world.

However, so long as you are in this physical form, who you are on the inside determines what you create in the physical world and may extend beyond it.

The bottom line is material wealth is temporary, and spiritual wealth is eternal.

Heavy stuff, eh?

I recommend you critically self-examine who you are and who you are becoming. This will allow you to determine what you want and what you get before and after life ends.

When you leave the earth and exist as a purely spiritual being, you will still be you, but you will be far more without the restrictions placed on us in this physical realm. Who can say what that will look like or if we can even use words like “look like”? They are likely too limiting to begin to describe the spiritual world.

“You aren’t wealthy until you have something money can’t buy.” Garth Brooks (1962-present)

Final words

This is serious stuff. This is life! This is your life. You only get one shot at it, so why not do your best to make it count!

What you do and who you are becoming determines your future. Why do so few take it seriously? Why indeed. I hope you will take it seriously.

You have one of two choices in this matter. You can choose to do nothing, or you can choose to do something. Choosing not to make a choice is still making a choice, but likely the wrong one.

If you choose to do something, it will behoove you to begin working on who you are now and who you are becoming now and in the future. This will allow you to start creating your desired material and spiritual lives. Do so thoughtfully, and you can live a life with far less regret.

This article is not complete without the following postscript.

I wish to offer you an invitation to the most important thing in life, Christian Spirituality. Christ has become ever more real to me during my many decades on earth. As a Christian, I ask you to consider His call to you. He died for your sins, was resurrected, and now sits at the right hand of God and intercedes for you and me. Christ offers forgiveness for all of your sins, asking you to believe in him with all of your heart, mind, soul, and strength. The Apostle Paul said in his letter to the Romans:

“If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.” Romans 10:9–10 (NIV)

Why not take Christ at His word and settle your spiritual future once and for all? There is no need to wait a second longer. It will be the best decision of your life and one that you will never regret!

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Bill Abbate Leadership Writer and Editor in ILLUMINATION

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