The richest man in the valley

I love this story. It’s entitled “The Richest Man in the Valley.”

A wealthy landowner named Carl often rode around his vast estate to congratulate himself on his great wealth. While riding around his estate on his favorite horse, he saw Hans, an old tenant farmer, one day. Hans was sitting under a tree when Carl rode by.

Hans said, ‘I was just thanking God for my food.’

Carl protested, ‘If that is all I had to eat, I wouldn’t feel like giving thanks.’

Hans replied, ‘God has given me everything I need, and I am thankful for it.’

The old farmer added, ‘It is strange you should come by today because I had a dream last night. In my dream, a voice told me, ‘The richest man in the valley will die tonight.’ I don’t know what it means, but I thought I ought to tell you.’

Carl snorted, ‘Dreams are nonsense,’ and galloped away, but he could not forget Hans’ words… ‘The richest man in the valley will die tonight.’

Obviously, he was the richest man in the valley, so he invited his doctor to his house that evening. Carl told the doctor what Hans had said. After a thorough examination, the doctor said to the wealthy landowner, ‘Carl, you are as strong and healthy as a horse. There is no way you are going to die tonight.’

Nevertheless, the doctor stayed with Carl for assurance, and they played cards through the night. The doctor left the following day, and Carl apologized for becoming upset over the older man’s dream.

At about nine o’clock, a messenger arrived at Carl’s door.

‘What is it?’ Carl demanded.

The messenger explained, ‘It’s about old Hans. He died last night in his sleep.’

Carl finally knew who the wealthiest man in the valley was, and it sure was not him. I guess the next question I must ask you is this. So who is the truly wealthy person? Are you genuinely wealthy? There is a difference between riches and wealth. Many people may not have that much money and shiny objects, but they are incredibly wealthy in having a successful family loaded with genuine and caring friends.

Somebody says: “A rich person has loads of money, but the wealthy have time.” One needs proper skills, values, the right attitude, and most importantly, the right character to handle money. When the person is equipped with this, then this person is genuinely wealthy. Wisdom comes to the person who has learned to have money in their head and not in their heart. Benjamin Franklin says: “Money never made a man happy yet, nor will it. The more a man has, the more he wants. Instead of filling a vacuum, it makes one.”

There is another type of riches available today, unique to this generation but limited to a few. You may have heard of them, and these are the riches of FAME and FOLLOWING through social media. You can call them brand influencers, YouTube Stars, TikTok influencers, etc. Many personalities have a huge following, and they know the tricks and tips of playing with the platform’s algorithm to increase their following and audiences. Many also learn how to create their online persona, monetize, and earn from it. And just like the traditional show business personalities, the person created on screen may not reflect the person’s genuine character. The platform can allow personalities to monetize and earn, but their persona often is not the same. Today there are tips, tricks, and tweaks on increasing the likes, following, audiences, and visibility on online platforms, persona, and presence. And then a wise person says: “Your character needs to grow faster than your platform.” What a sobering reminder.

Who is the truly wealthy person then, you may ask? Somebody wisely says: “A wealthy man is one whose children run into his arms when his hands are empty.” A wealthy person is rich in their personal and intimate relationship with Christ. This is why the person could say that they lack nothing more. Everything will be left behind, yet in Christ living in His presence in all eternity is true riches and wealth that last forever.

(Francis Kong runs his Level Up Leadership 2.0 Master Class Online on April 20, 21, and, 22. For inquiries and reservations, contact April at +63928-559-1798 or and for more information, visit www.levelupleadership.ph)