By Dr. Joseph Mercola
In this "Greed is Good" world we live in, few flinch at the prospect of making money. However, the simple act of honest hard work with the end result being making money isn't really a bad thing either. In fact, it can be extremely rewarding if the pursuit of money is done for all the right reasons.
I recently came across the highly motivational sermons of John Wesley, a popular 18th century Anglican minister, and found one particular sermon, "The Use of Money," (1744) to be one of the most interesting and persuasive arguments for making and using money to do good. It was this kind of thinking that raised the poorest of the poor into middle-class status some 260 years ago.
You could make a very good argument "The Use of Money" was one of the world's earliest "get rich quick" guides, yet it wasn't designed to work that way. The goals Wesley championed many lifetimes ago in his sermon are simple on the surface yet quite elegant.
As you can imagine, following those simple rules, however, is a bit more complicated. And much of it cuts right to the heart of what we do at Mercola.com.
Gaining all you can
The act of gaining all you can is a good thing as long as you respect others and don't try to sell things to them that may hurt or impair their health in any way. In his sermon, Wesley specifically pointed out the responsibilities physicians, pharmacists and surgeons must exercise daily to do no harm or to impair the health of others in the act of gaining through honest works.
Along those lines, in the process of gaining, Wesley advises his parishioners to use all their common sense and life experience to make good choices and to question and improve on those life and work decisions they make daily. In essence, practice what you learned yesterday in hopes of improving yourself today and tomorrow.
Saving all you can
Wesley does a great job of articulating the responsibilities all of us have to amass all that we can "by honest industry," doing so without delay and using all the tools and people and experiences God has given us to improve ourselves daily. Having succeeded at gaining, Wesley urged his parishioners also to save all they could.
Money, talents and time shouldn't be thrown away on things like fancy clothes, gluttony or to sate one's vanity in any way. But what happens at the end of our days?
What do we do with all that we've saved? Wesley advises parents not to leave behind all that they have saved to children who would waste such gifts, even if the executor of such a fortune would be a single child. And, if none showed any responsibility, Wesley urged people "to bestow all the rest in such a manner as I judged would be most for the glory of God."
Giving all you can
Gaining and saving all you can, in Wesley's eyes, isn't everything, however. Without giving all that you possibly can, the act of gaining and saving is merely a worthless exercise. Having all the gifts and not using them, Wesley says, is much like throwing all your money in a bank or the ocean. Hoarding those gifts does no one any good.
Perhaps, Wesley's key concept to understand here is that God placed people on Earth to be stewards, not proprietors or owners, to help each other in times of need. God is the "owner" of all things.
Upon using all that common sense and wisdom at their disposal to amass wealth, Wesley says people have a responsibility to take care of themselves first, then to those "as you have the opportunity to do good unto all men." If you have any doubts about what to do with your excess funds, the Anglican evangelist again recommends thinking like a steward, and if all else fails, thoughtful prayer with God.
Much of what we do at Mercola.com and the Optimal Wellness Center is based on those principles Wesley outlined long ago. My vision for this Web site as well as my practice is to share what I know every day with you about the perils of the conventional health care paradigm that's focused more on the business of medicine than true, lasting healing.
Moreover, it is one of the best gifts I can give to empower you to make more informed decisions about the one thing that is priceless: your health and that of your family.
Wesley.com June, 2004
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