All the Money in the World

I left the theater a little sad and depressed after viewing the movie, "All the Money In The World." I'm old enough to vaguely remember the kidnapping of J. Paul Getty's grandson. It horrified me to think a grandfather would allow his purportedly favorite grandson's ear to be cut off rather than part with a tiny portion of his fortune. I would give my life for any one of my grandchildren, but then I don't have a fortune with which to part. Was J. Paul Getty really that greedy?

By the definition of greed--An inordinate or insatiable longing for unneeded excess, especially for excess wealth, status, power, or food--I suppose he was greedy. He had billions of dollars by today's calculations. Billions of which he never shared with any charity.

In contrast is the story of the poor widow :in the book of Luke:

21 And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury, ² and He saw also a certain poor widow putting in two mites. ³ So He said, “Truly I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all; ⁴ for all these out of their abundance have put in offerings for God,^[a] but she out of her poverty put in all the livelihood that she had.”

The poverty stricken widow gave what little she had to help others. It amazes me that she could imagine anyone needing money more than she did. Her confidence that God would provide allowed her to give everything she had away.

I believe J Paul Getty suffered from a spirit of poverty which kept him oppressed. He tied his self-worth to his money. His billions did not give him the value he desired. His father told him he would never amount to anything and would ruin the company. He married and divorced five times. His philosophy seems to have been, "It's mine! All mine!" He had to hang on to his money because without it he was nothing.  Money did not bring him happiness or contentment. Poor, poor man.

I'm not to the point of giving everything I have away. God hasn't called me to do that, but I do strive to be more like the widow than the richest man in the world. Just something I was thinking about....