Byron Pulsifer wrote, “Wealth is not measured in dollars and cents but instead is measured in caring, kindness, and the appreciation and admiration of others who you meet and deal with in everyday life.”
This was illustrated to my husband and me when we paid a nominal fee to visit a luxurious historic hotel on Mackinac Island. The world of afternoon tea, horse-drawn carriages, and white rockers on an expansive porch charmed us on floor one. Then we boarded an elevator and headed to four. When we stopped at two, a couple pushed their way on.
We heard a woman’s voice from behind: “We’re very sorry, but we don’t think you’ll fit. We have someone in a wheelchair back here.”
The two did not budge. I repeated her words, thinking they had not heard.
“We are on, and we are not getting off this elevator. We are staying at this hotel,” the man declared, his voice dripping with anger and sarcasm. The hotel’s visitor maps we all held in our hands revealed we were not overnight guests.
His remark implied he could afford to stay at this hotel while we could not. He was annoyed that outliers would enter an enclave for the rich and famous. As he disembarked on his floor, he loudly told us that he had stayed at this hotel for thirty years—one final dig to ensure we understood his superiority.
Later, I told my husband, “If that’s how people act when they are super rich, then my prayer is, ‘Lord, please protect me from ever becoming that rich. I’d rather be a person of modest means who is kind to people.’”
Having thought it over, I’d like to add, “Lord, thank You for all You’ve given me, and help me remember it’s only by Your gracious provision. Finally, God, help me always to show respect and humility to everyone.”
In his song “Give Thanks,” songwriter Henry Smith encouraged the weak to say they were strong and the poor to say they were rich. Because of what the Lord has done, we can give thanks with a grateful heart.
Sometimes, the poor are rich, and the rich are poor.
Perhaps you’d like to pray that you will show kindness, humility, and respect to all.
(Photo courtesy of pixabay and nattanan23.)
(For more devotions, visit Christian Devotions.)
A Wisconsin native, Lauri Lemke Thompson enjoys living with her husband in the lovely Ozark mountains in Branson, Missouri. She is active in the Ozarks Chapter of the American Christian Writers and Christian Women’s Connection and volunteers for the local hospital. She authored a book called Hitting Pause, a collection of her articles and devotions. Her articles also appear in the Branson Tri-Lakes News.