Chapter 9
Line Up with Higher Principles
Many people desire and strive for wealth and success, believing that a big income, large house, fancy car, luxury boat – for everything the bigger the better – will bring them happiness. If only they could afford a Mercedes or a Ferrari, or have a lavish home on a posh side of town, or go on an exotic holiday! But is this where true happiness is really found? Consider these real-life stories and results of studies.
Carl had a very successful career as a consultant. Even as a young man, he travelled the world and made a lot of money. He and his wife had a beautiful home and a very comfortable lifestyle. In the eyes of many, they were blessed.
Out of over 5,000 applicants, Doug was one of only 80 selected to become an apprentice with a prominent bank. Within just a few years, he was repeatedly promoted, eventually being made the head of a major department at another bank. By the time he left that job to start his own company, he was making more money in one year than most people make in a lifetime. He too felt blessed.
Yet, both of these men are convinced that there are blessings that surpass material riches. For instance, today Carl volunteers as a teacher of spiritual principles helping others get closer to God. He remarks, “I have personally seen and experienced that material wealth does not lead to happiness. The struggle to get it and keep it allows time for little else. On the other hand, living by higher principles opens up so many blessings, such as a happy marriage, peace of mind, and a good conscience.”
Doug similarly observes: “God does not want us to live a life of opulence. I strongly feel that whatever He gives us that is beyond our daily needs puts us under obligation to use it according to His will.” Recently, he and his family started to learn another language in order to teach more people about God. He says, “We have learned that giving makes us happier than does receiving.”
Carl and Doug have both learned that spiritual blessings are much more valuable than material riches. And studies have now conclusively shown that giving is indeed a path to well-being and happiness – as shown later in this chapter.
Daniel Gilbert, a Harvard professor of psychology and author of award-winning, best-selling, and internationally translated classic, Stumbling on Happiness, notes that mental-health experts who have studied the relationship between wealth and happiness have found that wealth increases human happiness when it lifts people out of abject poverty and into the middle class. However, it does little to increase happiness thereafter.
“Once above the poverty line,” notes another researcher, “increases in income have surprisingly little relation to personal happiness.” Studies have shown that even those who have won a lottery haven’t overall become significantly happier.
Born in 1835 in Scotland, Andrew Carnegie came to the United States when he was thirteen. As an avid reader, he became largely self-educated. After working on a series of railroad jobs, he entered and subsequently revolutionized the steel industry. By 1889, he owned Carnegie Steel Corporation, the largest of its kind in the world. His new strategy helped him become the dominant force in the industry and an exceedingly wealthy man. It also made him known as one of America's “builders,” as his business helped to fuel the economy and shape the nation into what it is today.
In 1901, at the age of 65, Carnegie made a dramatic change in his life. He sold his business, which earned him more than $200 million, and decided to spend the rest of his days helping others. While he had begun his philanthropic work years earlier by building libraries and making donations, he now expanded his efforts. He donated a substantial sum to the New York Public Library so that it could open several branches. Devoted to learning, he established the Carnegie Institute of Technology in Pittsburgh, now the Carnegie-Mellon University. In 1905, he created the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. Strongly interested in peace, he formed the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in 1910. It is said that over 2,800 libraries were opened with his support.
Early in the 1900s, a reporter interviewed Andrew Carnegie, who was then still one of the richest men in the world. “I am not to be envied,” Carnegie told him. “How can my wealth help me? I am sixty years old and cannot digest my food. I would give all my millions if I could have youth and health.”
The reporter then added: “Mr. Carnegie suddenly turned, and in hushed voice and with bitterness and depth of feeling quite indescribable, said, ‘If I could make Faust’s bargain I would. I would gladly sell anything to have my life over again.’”
Another multimillionaire, oil magnate J. Paul Getty, later said in agreement: “I would give my entire fortune for one happy marriage. Money doesn’t necessarily have any connection with happiness. Maybe with unhappiness.”
Rather than wealth accumulation being the source of happiness, studies have shown a clear link between generosity and well-being. While possessing money or material goods doesn’t make us happy, giving them away actually does.
For example, when people received a sum of money, they felt better if they spent it on others or gave it away, rather than spending it on themselves. Also, those who practice volunteering or donate to charity tend to have better physical, psychological and mental health, and greater longevity. Specifically in one study, donors have been found to have lower blood pressure, even when controlling for factors like income, wealth, age and exercise, which suggests the giving itself is responsible.
Research also showed that money is more likely to bring happiness if given away or if spent on experiences, rather than material goods. Another study suggests that a conscious lifestyle of ‘strategic under-consumption’ or thrift can also lead to well-being.
So if you want to enhance your feeling of wellness and contentment, ignore the ‘happiness means consumption’ messages that we are bombarded with by the media. A lifestyle of generosity and under-consumption may not suit the needs of economists and politicians - but it will make us individually happier.
We can learn much from the wise words of the American Indian, Ohiyesa, speaking of his Sioux people: “It was our belief that the love of possessions is a weakness to be overcome. Its appeal is to the material part, and if allowed its way, it will in time disturb one’s spiritual balance. Therefore, children must early learn the beauty of generosity. They are taught to give what they prize most, that they may taste the happiness of giving.”
As we can see, even if a materially high standard of living is realised, the hopes for happiness may never materialize because physical possessions of and by themselves, no matter how abundant, do not bring happiness, and money cannot buy it. Many a rich person, who seemingly had it all, also may have had poor health, unhappy marriage, several divorces and remarriages, chronic depression, and in the end may have even taken their own life or died in another tragic manner.
If a high standard of living was the key to happiness, people in the developed countries would have to be much happier than those in the developing world. Instead however, youth from well-to-do homes often live meaningless lives, seek happiness in destructive activities like drugs and alcohol, get into situations of violence, and even commit suicide.
Rather than focusing on purely material pursuits, put some of your energies into doing good – serving others. Focus on being compassionate, kind and helpful. Wish others well, instead of being jealous of their possessions or successes. Thoughts are powerful energy that influence both those we direct them to and ourselves. If we wish people well by sending them thoughts of kindness, these thoughts will come back to us. The same will happen if we project thoughts of hate and envy – those energies too will return to us like a boomerang. This is the law of cause and effect, or what goes around comes around.
Aligning with principles of ethics, morality and kindness is still the way to a happier life in contrast to harbouring greed, jealousy and anger. Respecting others and building them up with words of encouragement and acceptance is far more conducive to a life of peace and contentment for both the giver and the recipient than tearing down with criticism, arguing and strife.
Even though in our post-modern era there is seemingly no right or wrong, the fact is that beyond misguided thinking, universal principles still hold true. Therefore honesty and integrity will in reality never go out of style and in the long run, be the best policy. Being kind and considerate to others, not just concerned about self-satisfaction, will bring feelings of joy and well-being. If you are both frugal and generous – frugal in conservation, spending, and not being wasteful, and generous in giving and sharing – you will be blessed. This is because according to the higher principles of the universe, to give is more blessed than to receive, and it is generally better to be kind than to be right at all costs.
In summary, realize that happiness doesn’t come from a pursuit of wealth and material possessions. There are indeed higher principles that will cause us to have a life abundant in joy and satisfaction. These include loving relationships, giving and serving others, and a life of kindness and compassion. Jesus is quoted as saying: “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” (Bible, Acts 20:35).
For another insightful article, see
https://www.hopechannel.com/au/read/affluenza-what-does-your-money-say-about-you