Curses and Blessings

Here in the US our Million Dollar Lottery is approaching two billion US dollars for the winner or would be the winning amount for more than one winner if that were to happen.  I have thought about what I would do with a few extra million dollars, but to suddenly become a billionaire just might be more of a curse than a blessing.  Suddenly, the winner is forced onto the Forbes list of being one of the wealthiest persons in the world.  Some people on the Forbes list grew up with money, while others made their money, but was able to adapt as they made it.  Just think about what a billionaire has to do with that wealth if he or she had not planned for it.  Not only does a person need a money manager and a trust fund with the attorneys to go along with it, but there are security issues and threats from all kinds of sources that weren’t there when a person bought the lottery ticket.  There are the dangers that kind of wealth brings with it.  And by that I mean that there are real security issues with that kind of wealth. 

For example, one of the wealthiest men in the world is Warren Buffet.  He still lives in the same house he and his wife bought in 1969.  But it’s more about what isn’t seen from the outside of his house.  While it might look nondescript enough, he has levels of security that might make the military jealous about the security of Fort Knox, where the US keeps its gold reserve.  Some say there is no longer any gold in Fort Knox, but that is another story.  My point is that with great wealth comes the responsibility to not only to protect the wealth, but to protect the family.  And THAT is my point in all this.  One has to protect the family from criminals who would think nothing of kidnapping a member of a wealthy family in order to get to some of that wealth.  There are a lot of wealthy families whose members have been at risk, just because of ransom threats. 

On the other hand, a lot of wealth in the right hands can do a lot of good.  And a good example of this is how Bill Gates and his wife have established a foundation to do a lot of good with all his wealth.  And really, while it might not make sense to some people to have wealth only to sit on it, there is one billionaire who has chosen to live in a trailer in a trailer park.  He has levels of security, but most of his wealth isn’t accessible even to him.  It’s tied up in his company.  And this is where a LOT of wealth is.  When a person wins the lottery, the money goes to banks.  And a person can choose how he or she wants to live off that wealth.  This is different from wealth made from  a company.  It’s easily accessible.  And THAT right there is all the difference in the world.  My point that I am making this morning is that this kind of sudden wealth has a lot of pitfalls that aren’t there for the average very wealthy person.  I don’t really think of winning that kind of money from a lottery is anything like wealth that is either inherited or created.  I don’t think of that kind of wealth as a blessing, but it is a curse and it’s a curse I would choose to avoid.  Don’t count on me winning the lottery.  I don’t play and I won’t.  Peace.  I am Brother Ralphie writing for my Angels from The Angels of Life Institute.  Brother Ralphie works from his study for the promotion of Peaceful living and inner Peace with God. He calls this the “Sanctity of Human Life Movement.”