Money Can't Buy Happiness

The local provincial lotteries have been high; not like American state lotteries, where they can reach over $300+ Million but higher than they often are – sitting around $15-$50+ Million. My Man buys lottery tickets and although I tell him I don’t have the strength of character it would take to steward that kind of win fall well, it’s hard not to imagine what I’d do with a sizeable chunk of money.

But we’ve all heard the old adage, “Money can’t buy you happiness.” I’d like to add, “But I’d like the chance to prove it.” Money aside, we’re sharing the best things money can’t buy this week on Kingdom Bloggers. Come along for our stories and share your own in the comments.

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To be honest, I dislike it when people say, “Money can’t buy happiness.” As if the happiest people are always dirt poor. Not true. Money-rich people are happy, and sometimes they are sad and miserable. Dirt-poor people are happy, and sometimes they are sad and miserable, too. It’s not the size of their savings that makes them happy but their attitude toward money that changes things. Having money increases options, but I digress. I’m not on a rant against rich people, nor am I extolling the advantages of poverty. I’ll save that for a later post on my own blog, Write Down the Revelation.

I’m having a hard time writing this. Normally a story or anecdote comes to mind immediately for the proposed theme but I’ve been procrastinating writing this post to the point that it’s already late for my usual posting schedule.

Here’s the list I have so far:

• Dogs – pretty much anytime I see a dog, I get happy.

• Laughter – best sound I’ve heard in the world is when my Boy gets the giggles, especially when he was a baby.

• Time – with my Man, with my family and with my friends, even by myself. I love unrestricted time.

• Gifts – doesn’t cost me anything and it shows me someone else was thinking about me.

But hands down, the best thing (for me) money can’t buy is living, breathing and operating by the Holy Spirit, given as a deposit of my inheritance for believing Jesus as the Son of God. The Holy Spirit heightens every emotion and every enjoyment, and I love working in tandem with the Holy Spirit to release the presence of God wherever I am.

Last week we talked about evangelism, I couldn’t be bold without the Holy Spirit and I wouldn’t know a thing, apart from the Holy Spirit revealing it to me. Last weekend, I was part of an outreach at a large Canadian rodeo. We had a tent set up with a sign inviting people in for free spiritual readings, dream interpretation or healing. Some Christians get their shorts in a knot at the thought of spiritual readings but it’s an outreach – it’s not for them anyway. We reach the people who would rather go to a psychic than a church.  

More than 300 people streamed through our tent over the weekend - some curious, some desperate, some being goaded by their friends. Every person who said they only had 5 minutes, ended up staying longer because they felt the presence of God, and that my friends, is the best thing in and out of this world. Our team had the privilege of introducing Jesus for the first time to 20+ people. That’s 20+ salvations in one weekend. Amazing. It didn’t cost me a thing but it made me happy.