What Am I Worth?

March 05, 2008 Quote of the Day

"I think it is more satisfactory to live richly than die rich."
Sir Thomas Browne

The erudite English doctor Sir Thomas Browne, who wrote a number of books on science and religion, was known for his baroque prose style and his controversial opinions. He was born in 1605 in London and settled in Norwich to practice medicine.

He wrote a famous book, Religio Medici (The Religion of a Physician), an intellectual autobiography, in 1635. A friend published it in 1642 without his permission, embarrassing him, but the book's popularity encouraged him to write more. He died in 1682.

Another British Believer's story:

Years ago, in London, Sir Moses Montefiore, the well known industrialist and philanthropist, was meeting with the British Queen over tea. In a very “un-British” manner, the Queen asked, “So tell me, Sir Moses, what are you worth?” He replied, “My dear Queen, please allow me to go through my records and I will present you the information in a week.”

So they met again for tea and Sir Moses presented the Queen with an accounting of his “Worth”. To which the Queen commented, “Sir Moses, this is truly a very large amount, but I personally know that your holdings in a particular project are worth more than this.”

Sir Moses smiled and said, “My dear Queen, you are mistakenly comparing how much money I have vs. How Much I Am Worth. The money I have, God gave to me, and it can be taken away at any time. It is not truly mine.

The amount I gave you on the paper is what I have given away to help others – to build hospitals and support orphanages, to help my brothers and sisters the world over. This is what I am worth, as it can never be taken away from me. [Joke-of-the-Day@mail4.joke-of-the-day-email.com]

Think richly about God and neighbor and grow in kindness, joy and peace. The world is waiting for us to get our thinking right.