Why do some people have everything?

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elysianverse

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It’s a fallen world and we all suffer. But some people have everything right from birth - wealth inherited from parents, best education, good looks etc. etc. Why does God favor them even though this is a sinful, fallen world?
 
elysianverse said:
It’s a fallen world and we all suffer. But some people have everything right from birth - wealth inherited from parents, best education, good looks etc. etc. Why does God favor them even though this is a sinful, fallen world?
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How do you know God is favoring them. Satan is the prince of this earth.
 
elysianverse said:
It’s a fallen world and we all suffer. But some people have everything right from birth - wealth inherited from parents, best education, good looks etc. etc. Why does God favor them even though this is a sinful, fallen world?
Click to expand...
Why do you see this as God’s favor when Jesus himself said it easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter heaven.

I am grateful that I have enough to get by on and am not burdened by earthly acquisitions and wealth.
 
vsedriver said:
Why do you see this as God’s favor when Jesus himself said it easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter heaven.

I am grateful that I have enough to get by on and am not burdened by earthly acquisitions and wealth.
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It is not riches per se which cause problems for people, but the love of riches, and attachment to worldly goods and ideas. Therefore blessed are the poor in spirit, not the poor themselves. One can be poor, and covet other peoples’ riches to the point of obsession. Of course one can also be poor and that can and often allows people to focus on what is free and really important i.e. God’s love.
 
elysianverse said:
It’s a fallen world and we all suffer. But some people have everything right from birth - wealth inherited from parents, best education, good looks etc. etc. Why does God favor them even though this is a sinful, fallen world?
Click to expand...
The toys of this world, say the latest Ferrari mean nothing. We all die and all of that is left behind. All of these toys are illusions which can often (but not always) create a barrier between us and God.
 
elysianverse said:
It’s a fallen world and we all suffer. But some people have everything right from birth - wealth inherited from parents, best education, good looks etc. etc. Why does God favor them even though this is a sinful, fallen world?
Click to expand...
You shouldn’t judge based on what is on the outside. Any of those people that you are comparing with can be the most sinful, dysfunctional people around. Or have tragedies in their lives.

Just look at the Kennedy family, for example.
 
The better question might be, “why does it bother me that others have more than I?”

And the most important thing to remember is, it does not matter what you have in this world (materially) because it is all of this world. When we die, it all stays behind and all we have left is what we did or didn’t do for God.

There is an excellent book that you may find incredibly helpful in this area called “Preparation for Death” by St. Alphonsus Liguori. It is not in print anymore, but you can find used copies. (Except I do think Patrick Coffin did a translation/abridged version…I have not read that one…maybe it is identical? ) My wife and I are reading small bits each day as a daily meditation throughout his year and we have found it extremely helpful in understanding the very thing you are asking about.

-ahs

ETA: This is the one I have:
amazon.com/PREPARATION-DEATH-St-Alphonsus-Liguori/dp/B000UTU0EW

which seems to be most similar to this printing (number of pages):
sistersofcarmel.com/preparation-for-death-considerations-on-the-eternal-maxims-st-alphonsus-liguori.php

The abridged version that Patrick Coffin translated seems to be the same in teh description, but only 146 pages:
amazon.com/Preparation-Death-Considerations-Judgment-Abridgment/dp/0895551748
 
Richard Cory
by Edwin Arlington Robinson

Whenever Richard Cory went down town,
We people on the pavement looked at him:
He was a gentleman from sole to crown,
Clean-favoured and imperially slim.

And he was always quietly arrayed,
And he was always human when he talked;
But still he fluttered pulses when he said,
“Good Morning!” and he glittered when he walked.

And he was rich, yes, richer than a king,
And admirably schooled in every grace:
In fine – we thought that he was everything
To make us wish that we were in his place.

So on we worked and waited for the light,
And went without the meat and cursed the bread,
**And Richard Cory, one calm summer night,
Went home and put a bullet in his head. **

Also check out the song by the same name by Simon and Garfunkel. youtube.com/watch?v=euuCiSY0qYs
 
elysianverse said:
It’s a fallen world and we all suffer. But some people have everything right from birth - wealth inherited from parents, best education, good looks etc. etc. Why does God favor them even though this is a sinful, fallen world?
Click to expand...
I have such a great father that my son told me that I am lucky and he wishes that he had a dad so great too.

Do I have something extra or am I missing something?:o
 
I was raised in a poor home. There were days we had no food. I was surrounded by abuse (although God spared me from having to suffer too much abuse personally). As an adult I live a lower-mid class lifestyle (although I think of myself as rich because I always have food, heat and running water. This, to me, is rich. I may not have money. I may not be beautiful but I feel so very, very blessed) and while I do not have every material thing I feel as if I have been given SO MUCH.

My upbringing made me the person I am and I feel like it has blessed me abundantly. Without those hardships I wouldn’t be who I am.

So… while some people seem to be greatly blessed with their good looks and abundance of material objects, perhaps they are not so blessed in spiritual bounties.

I would say we cannot judge who has and who has not been blessed by God judged only on their material wealth and/or physical attributes.

Being humbled, at a young age, was a blessing. I feel as if God has given me everything, even if I am not ‘beautiful’, even if I do not have an abundance of material wealth… God has blessed me greatly. 🙂 But you would never know it just by looking at me.
 
nickybr38 said:
I was raised in a poor home. There were days we had no food. I was surrounded by abuse (although God spared me from having to suffer too much abuse personally). As an adult I live a lower-mid class lifestyle (although I think of myself as rich because I always have food, heat and running water. This, to me, is rich. I may not have money. I may not be beautiful but I feel so very, very blessed) and while I do not have every material thing I feel as if I have been given SO MUCH.

My upbringing made me the person I am and I feel like it has blessed me abundantly. Without those hardships I wouldn’t be who I am.

So… while some people seem to be greatly blessed with their good looks and abundance of material objects, perhaps they are not so blessed in spiritual bounties.

I would say we cannot judge who has and who has not been blessed by God judged only on their material wealth and/or physical attributes.

Being humbled, at a young age, was a blessing. I feel as if God has given me everything, even if I am not ‘beautiful’, even if I do not have an abundance of material wealth… God has blessed me greatly. 🙂 But you would never know it just by looking at me.
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God Bless you!
But perhaps HUMILITY is also one of your blessings. 🙂
 
The rich do not have my wife, children, friends or dog. I would not sell even the dog, let alone the others to them for any amount of money. I think one of the strengths of Christianity and especially Catholicism is that the rich have no special place. The words of the Magnificat leave no doubt about the relative value of children ( and I would say: human relationships) and wealth.
 
You never know what is happening in a person’s life behind closed doors or windows. As the sayings go: “Appearances can be deceiving,” “Laughing on the outside; crying on the inside,” and “The pasture (grass) is always greener on the other side.” Or Woody Allen: “There are two groups of people: the horrible and the miserable.” The former includes the blind and disabled, and the latter, everyone else. As the late opera singer, Beverly Sills, put it: “I am a cheerful person, but not necessarily a happy one.” And from the Bible: “Who is rich? He who is content with his own share.” Nearly everyone has something in their lives they are struggling with.
 
elysianverse said:
It’s a fallen world and we all suffer. But some people have everything right from birth - wealth inherited from parents, best education, good looks etc. etc. Why does God favor them even though this is a sinful, fallen world?
Click to expand...
What makes you think it is God favoring them?
 
elysianverse said:
It’s a fallen world and we all suffer. But some people have everything right from birth - wealth inherited from parents, best education, good looks etc. etc. Why does God favor them even though this is a sinful, fallen world?
Click to expand...
Having everything, is not a favor.
 
elysianverse said:
It’s a fallen world and we all suffer. But some people have everything right from birth - wealth inherited from parents, best education, good looks etc. etc. Why does God favor them even though this is a sinful, fallen world?
Click to expand...
Why do you say God is favoring them?
 
elysianverse said:
It’s a fallen world and we all suffer. But some people have everything right from birth - wealth inherited from parents, best education, good looks etc. etc. Why does God favor them even though this is a sinful, fallen world?
Click to expand...
A observation from an old lady: don’t come to the conclusion that they’ve been somehow favored by God until you’ve lived in their world. Some of the unhappiest people who’ve ever tripped across my path were rich, attractive and/or well-educated. Ironic, no?

Luna
 
Consider how many celebrities go through endless marriages, drug addictions, and even suicide (deliberate or accidental.) These things can and surely do feel as much a curse as a blessing, when one begins to wonder whether they’re loved for who they are or how they look, how much money they have, etc.
 
elysianverse said:
It’s a fallen world and we all suffer. But some people have everything right from birth - wealth inherited from parents, best education, good looks etc. etc. Why does God favor them even though this is a sinful, fallen world?
Click to expand...
Two people. First given everything: great education, father picks up tab for almost everything, great medical practice, home in best section and clueless. How so? Never picks up a tab but lets aging parent do it. Didn’t know if he should or shouldn’t attend aging parent’s birthday. Didn’t pay cab fare but told parent cabbie was waiting for his money. Get the drift?

Second: Two children one becomes mentally disabled while pregnant with second and eight years later she’s left a widow. Always room in home for aging relatives who live with her while she works to support the kids. Retires and works for hospice. She is an absolute angel because she brought such joy and laughter into home. She took care of above aging parent. Although one was left a very nice estate, when the second person later found a very large sum of money and turned it over to the first person she was thanked and that was all. Even when family members told her the second person should be given something, she ignored it.

So which one would you want to be when you appear before the Lord? The second one is going to have a lot more friends cheering her cause than the first will have. Number 2 is a saint.
 
Some of it is just plain luck. I was born to a very poor family with a history of drug addiction, poverty, broken marriages, you name it. I was adopted as a baby by an amazing family that is very wealthy, very Catholic and doesn’t have anything than the normal family drama that all families have. How do I explain it? It’s quite simple. Luck.
 
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