Money shouldn’t be mankind’s ultimate driving force

Jim Rohn wrote an article entitled “Nine Things More Important than Capital.” He was applying these nine things to business.

Rohn said, “I believe some things are more valuable than capital (money) that can lead to your entrepreneurial success.” Then he lists the nine things.

I would like to take his nine things and apply them to the spiritual life.

• Time. If we love someone, we are willing to spend time with them. If we love God and want to do God’s will, we must be willing to spend some time every day talking with God. We call this prayer or meditation. We do not have to be in church to pray. We can talk to God anywhere at anytime. Look how much time we waste in front of the television. Our time is valuable and short. Let’s use it well to build relationships in our lives.

• Desperation. Sometimes we do not get moving until “our backs are against the wall.” When we finally realize that “we must do something,” we get moving. Many people neglect their spiritual lives. They do “holy things,” but they are not motivated from within. Only when they realize that “I must get my life going on the right road,” will they start moving toward God.

• Determination. We do not build relationships overnight. We need time to open and reveal our innermost selves. We must be determined to stick to our plans of putting God first in our lives.

• Courage. We often worry what other people may think of us if we act like Jesus. They killed Jesus because he had the courage to think, act and speak about the important things of life. We need that same courage to think, act and speak about what is important.

• Ambition. We have to be willing to dream. What would the world be like if Christians took their religion seriously? We have to be willing to change ourselves and our world one day at a time.

• Faith. Faith is believing and trusting that God is with us. We are not in this world alone. We ask God’s help to build loving relationships in our lives.

• Ingenuity. Ingenuity is using our brain power to find the most loving ways of acting. God will help us but He expects us to act as well. God gives us our talents, brains and abilities to be used. We need to spend some time trying to figure out what is the best way to conduct our lives. God is love. We are made after God’s image and likeness. How can we conduct our lives so we can reflect the loving qualities of God?

• Heart and Soul. When Jesus was asked what is the greatest commandment, he said, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind.” This is the greatest and first commandment, and a second is like it: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:37-39)

What Jesus did was to take two commandments (one from the Book of Deuteronomy and the other from Leviticus) and put them together. He was telling us that we have to put our hearts and souls in the act of loving God and neighbor.

• Personality. Someone said, “A sad Christian is a sad Christian.” A Christian should be filled with joy because of their relationship with God. The temptation many people have is to “try to be like someone else.” God made each one of us unique. We find true happiness from within. St. Iraeneus said, “The glory of God is a person fully alive.” Be all that you can be.