Many people, especially Christians, have a negative attitude toward money and its place in their lives. Money, like anything else, is simply a tool for getting things done. In this chapter Wattles states his case on what riches really are and why getting rich is the right thing to do.

1. Wattles defines riches as the full development of the mind, body, and soul.

In order to achieve this, a person must have money to develop these areas of his/her life. Money is a tool for developing completely in every area of our lives.

2. Success in life is about becoming what you want to be.

The end goal here isn’t money; it’s about fully developing ourselves to become everything we were meant to be.

As I mentioned before, money is a tool to do that. The amount of money a person needs to do this will vary according to the individual because we each want different things.

3. Becoming rich isn’t about acquiring a lot of money.

There is nothing sinful about wanting to become what God created you to be. In order to do that, you will need money to acquire the tools. Money only becomes sinful when it is the end goal.

There is also nothing sinful about having money. As T. Harv Ecker said in his book, “Secrets of the Millionaire Mind,” money simply makes you more of what you already are.

Good people who become rich will have the opportunity to do more good. Bad people who become rich will have the opportunity to do more evil.

4. We are more than just a body; each of us has a mind, body and soul.

Living fully means fully developing each of these three areas in our lives. In other words, to fully express ourselves, we need to fully express each of these areas in our lives.

5. Our highest happiness is found in helping those we love.

For Christians, this means loving God and loving our neighbor as we love ourselves. Giving to others makes us more complete.

It satisfies a deeper longing to make an impact on the world and make the world a better place. With nothing to give, we are unable to fulfill our place in others’ lives.

6. There is nothing wrong with desiring to be rich.

This desire is about fulfilling our ultimate purpose in life. Each of us was made by God for a unique purpose. When we fulfill this purpose, we find the joy, peace, happiness and life that God has in mind for us.

7. We render no greater service to God and mankind when we become rich.

The reason is that it allows us to do more. We have a greater ability to make the world a better place. By having a negative attitude toward money, or rich people, we keep ourselves from doing good, from making the world a better place.

Part of obeying God is to become what He made us to be. It’s also about doing what He sent us here to do. Becoming rich leads to success, a success that is satisfying and helps us reach our full potential.

2 Comments so far

1. Jeffrey on January 23, 2009 9:11 pm

   What a great article…yes I agree. To become rich is also to have a freedom to do, to be, and to have everything that we wanted.

2. Ayham on January 25, 2009 7:34 am

   I tried this book, it’s actually working for me, but you have to repeat it over and over again, and you have to read a chapter everyday until you realy get rich… It has some facts that you have to swallow without evidance – and this is the hard part – but if you apply what it tells you your financial status will improve. It’s available free at Wikipedia and you can download it from fifferent loactions.