Rich Without Money

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Oct 25, 1870

Rich Without Money.

MANY a man is rich without money. Thousands of men with nothing in their pockets, and thousands without any pockets at all, are rich. A man born with a good, sound constitution, a good stomach, a good heart and good limbs, and a pretty good head-piece, is rich. Good bones are better than gold, tough muscles than silver, and nerves that flash fire and carry energy to every function, are better than houses and lands. It is better than a landed estate to have had the right kind of a father and mother. Good breeds and bad breeds exist among men as really as among herds and horses. Education may do much good to check evil tendencies and to develop good ones, but it is a great thing to inherit the right proportion of faculties to begin with. The man is rich who has a good disposition—who is naturally kind, patient, cheerful, hopeful, and who has a flavor of wit and fun in his composition. The hardest thing to get along with in this life is man's own self. A cross, selfish fellow, a desponding fellow, a timid, care-burdened man—these are all born deformed on the inside. Their feet may not limp, but their thoughts do. A man of fortune, on the brink of the grave, would gladly part with every dollar to obtain a longer lease of life.