With All That Wealth

Scripture References: 1 Samuel 25:2-3; 1 Timothy 6:19

When Edgar Degas was in his seventies and nearly blind, he spent his days pacing the boulevards of Paris, following funeral processions. Financially secure, he lived as if burdened with debt and dressed so shabbily that a tobacconist offered him free cigarettes. His friend Mary Cassatt despaired. He exasperated her continually, ignoring her advice and spurning her care. “What a state he is in!” she wrote a friend. “He scarcely knows you, he neglects his clothes, he takes no interest in himself. It is dreadful! With millions of francs still in his studio, they can do him no good; he is consumed with old age.”

He had painted brilliantly but had no future. He had become famous but couldn’t enjoy it. He could buy whatever he pleased but desired nothing. While still living he had lost the capacity to appreciate life! There are others like him—those who make the best of their careers, professions, or businesses, but leave undeveloped the best in themselves.

Courtesy of Speaker’s Sourcebook of New Illustrations by Virgil Hurley © 1995 by Word, Incorporated.
Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from the New King James Version®, NKJV © 1982 by Thomas Nelson.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.