005: The Rich Man

July 13, 2026

Wealth without independence is a unique form of poverty. 

I’ve been thinking about that for a while now.  It seems that no matter how much money someone has, their worries grow right alongside it. Somewhere along the way, I began to wonder if we’ve misunderstood what it actually means to be rich.  I’ve noticed something over the years. . .

The happiest people I’ve known have rarely talked about getting rich.

They talked about the job they just finished. Getting home before they kids went to bed. Being home when their kid started the first day of school. Sitting around a table that was never fancy but always full. They spoke with gratitude about ordinary things that somehow never felt ordinary to them.

Somewhere along the way, we’ve confused having more with living well.

We’re surrounded by messages telling us that fulfillment is always one purchase, one promotion, one vacation, or one accomplishment away. They goal post is always moving.  We are convinced that satisfaction is waiting just beyond whatever we don’t yet have. The problem is that every time we arrive, the horizon moves again.  The fantasy of having things is often more satisfying than owning them.  Desire keeps moving the finish line. Gratitude reminds you you’ve already crossed it.

Maybe the reason so many people feel poor isn’t because they lack possessions.

Maybe it’s because their expectations have outgrown their gratitude.

I’ve met men with very little who carried themselves like kings. I’ve met other men with very little who carried poverty everywhere they went. The difference wasn’t their paycheck. Both worked hard. Both loved their families. Both served others. But one counted blessings while the other counted burdens. One saw rain as a setback. The other thanked God that it came at all.  Then there are those who seem to have everything money can buy yet never find enough to satisfy them.

It makes you wonder what being rich actually means.

Money has never been the enemy. It feeds families, creates opportunities, and gives us the ability to bless others. There is honor in providing well. There is nothing wrong with building a successful life. 

But, somewhere along the way, money stopped being a tool.  It became the scorecard.  Then the pursuit became the purpose.  Eventually, many of us expected from money what only God was ever meant to provide.

The problem with that kind of wealth is that it always asks for one more dollar before it lets you feel like you’ve arrived.  No matter how much is consumed, fulfillment is never felt. 

The devil hates his servants.

Real wealth works differently.

It’s the satisfaction that comes after solving a problem with your own two hands. It’s the quiet confidence that grows every time you learn a new skill instead of depending on someone else. It’s looking at something you built, repaired, planted, cooked, created, or restored and thinking, I did that.  It’s the independence from outside forces that makes you feel whole.

That feeling can’t be delivered to your front porch.  It has to be earned. 

Some of the richest evenings in life cost almost nothing.  A meal with people you love.  A child who still wants to tell you about their day.  The sound of laughter drifting through the house.  A quiet porch after the work is finished.  The deep kind of tired that only follows meaningful effort.  Those moments rarely make headlines.  They rarely make social media.  But Those are the moments people remember when life’s flame is beginning to dim.  In the end, very few people wish they’d accumulated more.  Most simply wish they’d recognized sooner how rich they already were.

I’ve learned that the good days aren’t the ones where everything goes according to plan.  They’re the days when gratitude outweighs expectations.  When you give your best to the things you can control, accept the things you can’t, and recognize that many of the blessings you’ve been chasing have been sitting quietly beside you all along.

Contentment isn’t something that happens to us.  It’s something we practice.  Every day gives us another chance to decide what we’ll count. Our disappointments or our blessings. Our lack or our abundance. What we wish we had or what we’ve already been entrusted with.

One path always leaves us wanting more.  The other reminds us how much we’ve already been given.

The richest man isn’t the one who has the most.  It’s the one who ends the day thankful.

Because there is a kind of wealth that no market can measure, no thief can steal, and no economy can take away.

And once you’ve found it, you realize you were chasing the wrong kind of riches all along.

TOUCHSTONE
Desire keeps moving the finish line.
Gratitude lets you cross it.

— Sea of Mud Apparel Co.
Talk less. Say more.