Rich Man Poor Man

When did it become such a bad thing to be rich?
We spend a great deal of our lives doing things like going to college,taking courses,trying for a good paying job and desiring to live the good life,but in the same breath we dislike those who have made it to be successful.
While growing up in the 70's,the whole idea was to be comfortable in life,my parents never drove us by rich peoples small mansions and said"those people are evil and we need to take all their money,so we can work less and live better."
My parents always impressed on us how lucky we were to live in a country were every generation can do better then  those who immigrated here.
My grandparents came from Canada,they were farmers ,my grandfather had a 3th grade education,my father made it to the 8th grade,he worked hard to built his own house and hoped for more for his children.
The torch,so to speak,gets passed from one generation to the next,none of us is guaranteed a better life,but every one  of us is a stepping stone for the next generation.
Yesterday,while at coffee hour after church,someone at the table I was sitting at,pointed to a table across the room ,filled with church members talking about the up coming golf tournament,this gentleman  said,"look  over there,that's where all the rich people are ,you don't see them sitting with us,the poor people."
The thought came to my mind,who cares if people are rich or poor, just because some one plays golf does not mean they are wealthy.
Envy can be a terrible thing,it causes division.
We can not all have money but we can all have wealth.
Personal happiness with your self is more important then what one has in their saving account.
In the end, when we are laid to rest,the only wealth we will attain,is being in the presence of God.
Someone once told me the error of having wealth is not how big your house is or fancy your car,it is what you do with that home or vehicle.
We are required to help those in need,if God has given us more then it is our job to do the best we can with the extra we have.
A poor person can be just as earthly,if not more so,with the little God as graced them with,by not sharing,in a loving way,what they have.
Mother Teresa once told a story about how one day one of her sisters brought some rice to a poor family,the lady of the household divided her gift in half then said,I will give this to my neighbor because she is poorer the me.
Now that is wealth.