"As sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things."
This reminded me of a scripture I had promised to find during family scripture reading this week. It was about seeking wealth.
"Think of your brethren like unto yourselves, and be familiar with all and free with your substance, that they may be rich like unto you.
But before ye seek for riches, seek ye for the kingdom of God.
And after ye have obtained a hope in Christ ye shall obtain riches, if ye seek them; and ye will seek them for the intent to do good—to clothe the naked, and to feed the hungry, and to liberate the captive, and administer relief to the sick and the afflicted.
(Jacob 2:17-19)
Our family had a discussion about deception and how this verse in Jacob can get twisted. Where people say they want wealth to help others, but in reality they are seeking wealth to help themselves and increase their standard of living. Then with the "surplus" they will "benevolently" give to others.
I think the true key to knowing if you are seeking wealth to help others, is if you are completely satisfied with what God has already blessed you with. There is no desire to improve your lot first. Your needs become very basic and simple, and you willing share what little you do have. The only way that is possible is by seeking the kingdom of God first. Then your soul is satisfied and the giving to others comes naturally. The basket is always full because you share what little you have and the Lord returns it back again, and you know it. Man's standard of wealth and riches has nothing to do with this. The most humblest of individuals can be the riches people on earth. This is not something that can be seen or judged with the outward eye.
"Seek not for riches but for wisdom; and, behold, the mysteries of God shall be unfolded unto you, and then shall you be made rich. Behold, he that hath eternal life is rich."
(Doctrine and Covenants 11:7)
As a beautiful example, Elder D. Todd Christofferson related this story in his Oct 2008 General Conference talk "Come to Zion".
"I remember the story of a Vietnamese family that fled Saigon in 1975 and ended up living in a small mobile home in Provo, Utah. A young man in the refugee family became the home teaching companion to a Brother Johnson who lived nearby with his large family. The boy related the following:
One day Brother Johnson noticed that our family had no kitchen table. He appeared the next day with an odd-looking but very functional table that fit nicely against the trailer wall across from the kitchen sink and counters. I say odd-looking because two of the table legs matched the tabletop and two did not. Also, several small wooden pegs stuck out along one edge of the worn surface.
Soon we used this unique table daily for food preparation and for eating some quick meals. We still ate our family meals while we sat on the floor … in true Vietnamese fashion.
One evening I stood inside Brother Johnson’s front door as I waited for him before a home teaching appointment. There in the nearby kitchen—I was surprised to see it—was a table practically identical to the one they had given to my family. The only difference was that where our table had pegs, the Johnsons’ table had holes! I then realized that, seeing our need, this charitable man had cut his kitchen table in half and had built two new legs for each half.
It was obvious that the Johnson family could not fit around this small piece of furniture—they probably didn’t fit comfortably around it when it was whole. …
Throughout my life this kind act has been a powerful reminder of true giving” (Son Quang Le, as told to Beth Ellis Le, “Two-of-a-Kind Table,” Liahona, July 2004, 45; Ensign, July 2004, 63).
Day 1657
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