John D. Rockefeller Sr. was raised a devout Christian. He determined early in life to earn money and be rich, and he drove himself to the limit. At age 33, he earned his first million dollars. At age 43, he controlled Standard Oil, the biggest company in the world. At age 53, he was the richest man on Earth and the world’s only billionaire.
Then he developed a sickness called “Alopecia,” where the hair of his head dropped off, and his eyelashes and eyebrows disappeared. He became deeply depressed over his appearance, which made him look like a shrunken mummified corpse. His weekly income was one million dollars, but his diet only consisted of milk and crackers. He was so hated that he had to have bodyguards day and night. He could not sleep; he stopped smiling and enjoyed nothing in life.
The doctors predicted he would not live more than a year. Everyone gleefully anticipated his demise; the newspapers even wrote and published his obituary in advance. Those sleepless nights set him thinking. A Christian friend told him if he did not begin to share his mounting wealth it would crush him like an avalanche. He realized with a new light that he “could not take one dime into the grave.” He also realized that money was not everything.
The next morning, he woke up a new man. He began to help churches with his amassed wealth; the poor and needy were not overlooked. He established the Rockefeller Foundation, which funded medical research that led to the discovery of penicillin and other wonder drugs. John D. began to sleep well, eat well, and enjoy life. People began to love and appreciate him. The doctors had predicted he would not live past age 54, but to their amazement, he lived up to the ripe age of 98.
God understands the power of our thoughts. When we become misers, focus only on ourselves, we will become the most dejected of people. But when we live to give and share, health will flow into our lives. “A merry heart does good, like medicine, but a broken spirit dries the bones” Proverbs 17:22. It was Solomon, once the wealthiest man in the world, who wrote this Bible verse. John D. discovered that truth.
For what shall it profit a man, if he gains the whole world, and lose his soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?”
Mark 8:36-37
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