Playing Basketball
It was a beautiful fall afternoon and we were playing basketball in our driveway. There was laughing and dribbling, swishes and stealing, we were having so much fun just playing basketball. Spencer was trying to steal the ball from Jake, but Jake did not have the ball yet so would it really be called “stealing”?
If we take what we want when we know someone is about to get it is it really stealing? The object of the game is to take possession of the ball and score points, right? The object of life is to take control of our lives and build up possessions and wealth, right? I suppose it depends on how you choose to live your life.
Our family has been watching a riveting documentary on the History channel called “The Men Who Built America”. It tells the story of Vanderbilt, Carnegie, JP Morgan, Rockefeller and Ford. It is unbelievable how they shaped our culture in a short 50 year span of time. However, it is equally unbelievable to me how greedy these men were for power, prestige and wealth. In a way these men lived the “American Dream”. At least a few of them grew up poor and built their own empires. Rockefeller and Carnegie at the end of their lives competed to see who could give away as much as he had gained to charity before he died. They learned that in the end a life shared was a full life lived.
Accumulating wealth and gaining control of the game is not a deplorable action. The means by which one succeeds is what will be judged. Wealth, especially when shared, is not a bad thing. The wealth of one person can enable others to afford an opportunity to grow as well.
It’s how you play the game, score the points and share the winnings that matters the most.
