*(this is an EXAGGERATIVE short story that I wrote to illustrate my testimony when I share it with other countries and regions that do not relate to American culture. Written with simple wording to be easily translated)*
I’d like to tell you a story about 3 very different men: a young man, a loving father, and a rich old man.
The young man grew up in a small town in a very nice family but it was a very poor family and he only saw his loving father every Sunday.
Every Sunday the loving father saw the young man, the father asked “why do you only see me every Sunday? Do you not see how much I love you and how I want to see you every day?” And every day, the young man nods his head and leaves only to see the loving father again the next week.
The young man and his family worked hard, but they were still very poor. One day walking in the village, the young man overheard people whispering that his loving father was secretly very rich. In fact, he was the richest man in the whole village! This made the young man VERY angry.
The next Sunday, again the loving father asked “why do you only see me every Saturday? Do you not see how much I love you and how I want to see you every day?”
The son finally looked up and replied, “if you are really my loving father, how come I am so poor? People in the village say that you are very rich and powerful, why do you not give me your riches and power if I am your son?”
The loving father said, “Son, I give you all that you need to survive. Is this not enough?”
The young man said, “I do not understand I have sweat, and hurt, and cried because our family is so poor. Why do you only give me enough to survive if you have so much more?”
The loving father responded, “I love you more than you can imagine. Nothing you do that will make me love you less. I’m always in this house and I want to see you every minute of every day. I will give you all that I have once I am ready. ‘For such is the fate of all who are greedy for money; it robs them of life.’ (Proverbs 1:19) Just trust me and obey me.”
The frustrated young man said, “NO. I will not obey you any more. What you say is not fair, and I am tired of waiting. I have heard of a very rich old man who lives in a big city far away. I will leave this village and work for the rich old man and he will give me his money and will teach me how to be a rich as he is.”
So the young man left the village and moved to the big city far away to work for the rich old man.
The loving father was very very sad. He had loved the young man with all of his heart, but this was not enough for the young man to love him back. But the loving father did not give up on the young man. He moved to the big city far away and looked for him for 2 years. For two years the loving father went knocking on every door, asking if anyone had seen the young man. For two years the loving father walked in the streets asking anyone if they had seen the young man. Finally, one day a stranger told the loving father that he had seen the young man in the big mansion on top of the mountain. But the stranger warned the loving father that the young man was very mean and was being taught by the rich old man whom everyone hated.
This did not frighten the loving father. As the loving father began to walk up the mountain, he began to see how rich the old man who lived in the mansion was. The road up the mountain was made of pure silver. But this did not frighten the loving father. There were over 40 servants lining the road up to the mansion. But this did not frighten the loving father.
Finally, the loving father reached the top of the tallest mountain in the middle of the richest city, and before him was the biggest mansion. The loving father cared so much for the young man, that he marched right into the house and yelled, “Oh young man, how much I love you! You have never been kind to me, only coming to see me on Sundays and then leaving me and your family only to work for this rich old man whom everyone hates. Do you see how much I will do for you? I moved to this big city far away for you, I knocked on doors for two years looking for you, I roamed the streets for two years looking for you, I climbed this mountain for you, and I tell you I will never stop loving you.”
The young man came out of the shadows crying. The young man said, “Oh loving father, these past two years I have worked for the rich old man, who lived in the biggest house on the tallest mountain in the richest city, but he never came to see his own children. When they asked for him, he ignored them because he was too busy making money and being greedy. I learned from him and became addicted to wealth and greed. I was not nice to my friends. Take me with you, away from this place, for I have seen first hand what riches can do to a man’s soul. Teach me your rules again and love me so that I may go out and love others in the same way.”
The loving father smiled at the young man, “Son, nothing that you can ever say or do will make me love you less. Come with me, away from this place. I will show you the world and how to love it. I will show you how to love EVERYBODY of the world so that you may come back to this biggest house on the tallest mountain in the richest city and show the rich old man my love and so that he may be changed. I want to use you. ‘I want to teach you to use your worldly resources to benefit others and make friends. Then, when your earthly possessions are gone, they will welcome you to my eternal home.’ (Luke 16:9). ”
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This is a bit of my story. The young man is me, the rich old man is New York City, and the loving father is God. The story talks about how I grew up in florida. My father could have pursued a variety of Chemistry/Biology careers out of college, but he chose to become a pastor and in doing so took a significant pay cut. I didn’t understand why my dad would choose to follow God if God was so powerful but couldn’t give us any money. I selfishly felt like I was suffering because of my dad’s decision. So I only saw God on Sundays as the Pastor’s Kid would, at church.
I rejected religion in a sense and ran to New York City as soon as I could. I thought I knew better than God, but after 20 years and several graphic situations and tough realizations, I finally understood. In the bible there are many stories about riches and wealth and how wisdom if more powerful than either. But it took me two years to realize God was right.
The ending of the story cites the Parable of the Shrewd money manager. Which leads to why I’m on the World Race.
The more I experience the World Race as month 1 comes to a close, I can feel God teaching me how to love. How to love the people of these nations, how to love the sick, how to love my teammates, how to love the deformed, and how to love the wicked. I have shared my testimony 3 times already here in Nepal with audiences of up to 80 people. He wants to “teach me how to love and use my worldly resources to benefit others and make friends.” He has put New York City on my heart for a reason, I just didn’t know what the reason was until now. Here in Nepal, Christians have an especially hard time speaking to the Brahman Caste because they already have everything and Hinduism serves them, much how the millionaires and billionaires of New York already have everything and money/society serves them. I am learning to be rooted in faith, before I head into the lion’s den (“tiger den” for those in finance who know hedgefunds) of wealthy New York atheists. But that’s my calling: to be able to get in the same room with those that think they already have everything.
Store your wealth in heaven, because the place that you invest in is where your heart will also be. If you invest your wealth in the world, your heart will be in the world, your heart will be in the world. If you invest your wealth in heaven, that is where your heart will be. (Matthew 6:19-21)
