Dr. Wolken received his B.A. in Mathematics from the University of Missouri and both his M.S. in Economics and Ph.D. in Econometrics from Texas A&M University. After graduation he spent four years teaching math, economics, and astronomy and coaching baseball at a high school in a suburb of Houston. After teaching economics and finance for two years at Houston Baptist University, he returned to Texas A&M University as the Associate Director of the Center for Education and Research in Free Enterprise. He currently teaches International and Corporate Finance and serves as the assistant department head and advisor for the Master of Science in Finance program in the Department of Finance. He is also the Director of the Scholastic Assistance for global Education program for the Center for International Business Education and Research at Texas A&M University. His international experience includes teaching at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing, China, and teaching at Fudan University in Shanghai, China, as a Fulbright Scholar. Dr. Wolken's high school economics text was widely used throughout the United States. In addition, he is the co-author of twenty-three other social studies texts used nationwide in grades 1 through 12. He served as the James W. Aston/Republic Bank Professor of Finance from 1991 through 1993 and received the Distinguished Teaching Award in the College of Business Administration for the 1990-91 academic year.

As a member of the finance faculty in the Mays College and Graduate School of Business at Texas A&M University, I have taught courses dealing with a wide variety of financial topics. Much of the discussion in these courses is related to "wealth". In the introductory finance course, for example, the basic tools of the "time value of money" are developed. While the terminology "time value of money" may sound confusing, it is really quite simple. Anyone who has ever had any money knows that a dollar in the future is not worth the same as a dollar today. If you put a dollar in a savings account today, you will have more than a dollar in your account in the future because of the interest you have earned. Something that cost $100 today is likely to cost more than $100 in the future because of inflation. Once this basic concept is understood, it can be applied in a wide variety of contexts.

In corporate finance courses, I help students learn about ways decision makers can work to achieve the goal of the corporation. What is the goal of corporations? To maximize the wealth of its stockholders. How is this accomplished? By doing things that will increase the price of the firm’s stock. Investment courses help students understand tools which can help them make wise investment decisions. Calculations can be made to assist an investor in identifying which financial assets (like stocks and bonds) are overvalued and which ones are undervalued. Why would an investor want to know which stocks are overvalued? These are the stocks which should be sold because they will drop in price. Why would an investor want to know which stocks are undervalued? These are the stocks which should be purchased because they will increase in price. Why would an investor want to "buy low, sell high"? Because that is the way an investor becomes wealthy. In the international finance course I teach, we focus on the added risk multinational corporations face because of the changing value of the currencies they pay out and receive. The MNC’s decision makers try to manage this foreign exchange risk as a part of their efforts to maximize the wealth of the firm’s stockholders. Wealth is an important topic in finance classes.

The first step in trying to reach a goal is to clearly understand what that goal is. So what does it really mean to be wealthy? Perhaps you have heard of a multimillion dollar deal some athlete, actor or actress signed. Or the millions of dollars winners of the lottery receive. While this may seem like a lot of money, it pales in comparison to the truly wealthy of the world. Periodically Forbes magazine compiles a list of the 200 richest people in the world. To even be considered for inclusion on this list, a person must still be earning wealth or actively working with what they have inherited. Individuals and families who are simply living off of the wealth that someone else earned are excluded from consideration.

Who are the wealthiest people in the world? Japanese real estate tycoon Toshiaki Tsutsumi was number one on the first list Forbes compiled back in 1987. He was then worth an estimated $20 billion. When land prices in Japan crashed in 1990, much of his wealth evaporated. By late 1998 he was worth only $6 billion. With a net worth of $16.6 billion, Warren Buffett topped the list in 1996. Two years later he had been replaced as the world’s wealthiest person by Bill Gates. Mr. Gates was then worth $51 billion, up from $36 billion the year before. Much of his wealth is tied to the price of his shares of Microsoft stock and therefore subject to the ups and downs of the stock market. Bill Gates is not the only one to benefit from the upside of the market. In 1996 the median net worth of U.S. billionaires was only $2.5 billion. By 1998 this figure had increased to $6.8 billion. In that same year, the poorest on Forbes’ list was worth $1.5 billion.

The U.S. and Japan are not the only countries that have billionaires. From 1990 to 1994 the Mexican stock market quadrupled in terms of dollars. Forbes added 24 new billionaires from Mexico to its July 1994 list of the world’s wealthiest. Mexico’s Carlos Slim Hel was ranked number six on that list at a net worth of $6.6 billion. When the peso crisis hit in late 1994, the Mexican stock market dropped 44%. By 1995 he was worth only $3.7 billion. The prosperity of 1995 and 1996 created many billionaires in Southeast Asia. Unfortunately, their fortunes were reversed with the currency crisis which began in 1997. Number two on the list in 1998 was Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Alsaud of Saudi Arabia. His net worth was estimated at $13.3 billion. Vladimir Potanin of Russia ranked number ten with a net worth of $1.6 billion. In addition to 70 Americans, Forbes’ 1998 list included 52 Europeans, and 44 Asians.

Now that we have established how much money it takes to be wealthy, we can turn our attention to the secret to becoming wealthy. Let’s begin our search by looking at what the Bible has to say about wealth. The Old Testament tells us about a man named Solomon. As the King of Israel, he was one of the wealthiest and most powerful men in the world. His experiences led him to several important observations about being rich. After spending much of his life using his wealth in an effort to find happiness, he concluded:

I said to myself, "Have fun and enjoy yourself!" But this didn’t make sense. Laughing and having fun is crazy. What good does it do? I wanted to find out what was best for us during the short time we have on this earth. So I decided to make myself happy with wine and find out what it means to be foolish, without really being foolish myself.

I did some great things. I built houses and planted vineyards. I had flower gardens and orchards full of fruit trees. And I had pools where I could get water for the trees. I owned slaves, and their sons and daughters became my slaves. I had more sheep and goats than anyone who had ever lived in Jerusalem. Foreign rulers brought me silver, gold, and precious treasures. Men and women sang for me, and I had many wives who gave me great pleasure.

I was the most famous person who had ever lived in Jerusalem, and I was very wise. I got whatever I wanted and did whatever made me happy. But most of all, I enjoyed my work. Then I thought about everything I had done, including the hard work, and it was simply chasing the wind. Nothing on earth is worth the trouble. {1}

Even though he was famous, got whatever he wanted, and was rich enough to do what ever he thought would make him happy, he concluded that all of this "was simply chasing the wind". That should make us wonder about our own desires about becoming wealthy.

Some people have the idea that if they just had enough money they would be satisfied with their life. Solomon came to a very different conclusion:

If you love money and wealth, you will never be satisfied with what you have. This doesn’t make sense either. The more you have, the more everyone expects from you. Your money won’t do you any good—others will just spend it for you. If you have to work hard for a living, you can rest well at night, even if you don’t have much to eat. But if you are rich, you can’t even sleep.

I have seen something terribly unfair. People get rich, but it does them no good. Suddenly they lose everything in a bad business deal, then have nothing to leave for their children. They came into this world naked, and when they die, they will be just as naked. They can’t take anything with them, and they won’t have anything to show for all their work. That’s terribly unfair. They leave the world just as they came into it. They gained nothing from running after the wind. Besides all this, they are always gloomy at mealtime, and they are troubled, sick, and bitter. {2}

This is where the old saying "you can’t take it with you" comes from. Early in his reign, Solomon wrote and compiled a collection of wise sayings called proverbs. Many of these dealt with the subject of being wealthy:

Give up trying so hard to get rich. Your money flies away before you know it, just like an eagle suddenly taking off. {3}

Sometimes you can become rich by being generous or poor by being greedy. Generosity will be rewarded: give a cup of water, and you will receive a cup of water in return. Charge too much for grain, and you will be cursed; sell it at a fair price, and you will be praised. {4}

In the house of the righteous is much treasure: but in the revenues of the wicked is trouble. {5}

Trust in your wealth, and you will be a failure, but God’s people will prosper like healthy plants. {6}

It’s better to be honest than to be dishonest and rich. {7} The wealth you get from crime robs you of your life. {8}

Don’t be selfish and eager to get rich—you will end up worse off than you can imagine. {9}

Make me absolutely honest and don’t let me be too poor or too rich. Give me just what I need. If I have too much to eat, I might forget about you; if I don’t have enough, I might steal and disgrace your name. {10}

Because Solomon inherited the throne from his father, King David, he never had to experience being poor. Perhaps he had little good to say about being wealthy because he never had to live without it and therefore had no real appreciation of it. In contrast to Solomon, consider another person in the Old Testament, Job. He experienced both great wealth and extreme poverty. He knew well the difference between the two. He commented:

Greedy people want everything and are never satisfied. But when nothing remains for them to grab, they will be nothing. Once they have everything, distress and despair will strike them down, and God will make them swallow his blazing anger. While running from iron spears, they will be killed by arrows of bronze,whose shining tips go straight through their bodies. They will be trapped by terror,and what they treasure most will be lost in the dark. God will send flames to destroy them in their tents with all their property. The heavens and the earth will testify against them, and all their possessions will be dragged off when God becomes angry. This is what God has decided for those who are evil. {11}

Much can be learned from the observations of Solomon and Job. First, possessions in themselves will not make a person happy. Second, the way that a person gains wealth is important. They warn against dishonesty and criminal activities. Third, a person’s attitude about wealth is more important than the wealth itself. If attaining wealth is the focus of your life, you will never be satisfied or truly happy.

The New Testament of the Bible also has a lot to say about becoming rich. On many occasions Jesus taught his disciples about worldly wealth. For example, He told them:

Don’t store up treasures on earth! Moths and rust can destroy them, and thieves can break in and steal them. Instead, store up your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy them, and thieves cannot break in and steal them. Your heart will always be where your treasure is. {12}

At first glance this statement may seem rather simplistic, but it has very important implications for one’s life. First of all, there are two different places to store that which one has accumulated. Second, there are two different kinds of wealth. Forbes measures the kind of wealth we accumulate here on earth. Money, shares of stock, real estate, homes, cars, and boats are a few examples of worldly wealth. Any physical item someone owns that has a monetary value is part of that person’s wealth. Jesus points out two things that commonly happen to our worldly wealth. It constantly deteriorates over time in spite of our efforts to properly maintain it or it gets stolen.

The second place to store up wealth is in heaven which is very different from earth. Any wealth you accumulate there will never deteriorate (and therefore does not require constant maintenance) and it cannot be stolen. And the worldly wealth you accumulate during your life on earth does not count toward your wealth in heaven. As Solomon pointed out, when you die you will not be able to take your money, shares of stock, cars, etc with you. Heavenly wealth is very different from worldly wealth.

The last sentence of Christ’s statement says a great deal about the focus of a person’s life. Each person has a choice to make. Either spend your life here on earth trying to accumulate worldly wealth or spend it doing things that will accumulate treasures for you in heaven. You cannot do both. You will either spend your life doing things to accumulate worldly wealth or you will spend it doing things which will be rewarded in heaven.

Does this mean that religion will make a person wealthy? Timothy answers that question:

These people think religion is supposed to make you rich. And religion does make your life rich, by making you content with what you have. We didn’t bring anything into this world, and we won’t take anything with us when we leave. So we should be satisfied just to have food and clothes. People who want to be rich fall into all sorts of temptations and traps. They are caught by foolish and harmful desires that drag them down and destroy them. The love of money causes all kinds of trouble. Some people want money so much that they have given up their faith and caused themselves a lot of pain. {13}

Notice that Timothy did not say that religion will make you rich. He said it will make "your life" rich. How? By bringing contentment into your life. True contentment, according to Timothy, does not depend on the amount of things you own but by being satisfied with what you have. It is important to understand what Timothy meant by religion. To him, religion was a personal relationship with Christ. That is far different from much of what is referred to as religion today. To many, religion is a set of rules, some rituals, or attending church services. This type of religion is not what God wants for you. He wants you to have a loving relationship with His son Jesus.

Timothy also made the important observation that, in and of itself, money is neither good nor bad. It is the "love" of money that is bad. It is our attitude about money that causes us problems. A person who is consumed with the idea of accumulating more and more money will never be happy or content. This is very different from the world view expressed by Ivana Trump. When told that money can’t buy a person happiness, she supposedly responded "Obviously that person does not know where to shop." While money itself is neither bad nor good, it can be used for good. Perhaps that is what Jesus had in mind when he said, "Much is required from those to whom much is given, and much more is required from those to whom much more is given." {14} Money can do a lot of good for other people if it is used unselfishly. There is no doubt that those listed by Forbes have a great deal of money. The key question is, "What is their attitude toward their money and what are they doing with their billions of dollars of net worth?"

Some people feel that being wealthy will make their life safe. Luke tells us what Jesus had to say about this:

Then he said to the crowd, "Don’t be greedy! Owning a lot of things won’t make your life safe."

So Jesus told them this story:

A rich man’s farm produced a big crop, and he said to himself, "What can I do? I don’t have a place large enough to store everything."

Later, he said, "Now I know what I’ll do. I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones, where I can store all my grain and other goods. Then I’ll say to myself, ‘You have stored up enough good things to last for years to come. Live it up! Eat, drink, and enjoy yourself.’ "

But God said to him, "You fool! Tonight you will die. Then who will get what you have stored up?"

"This is what happens to people who store up everything for themselves, but are poor in the sight of God." {15}

Suppose for the moment that you are successful in your quest for gaining wealth. In fact, let’s imagine that you are so successful that you own everything on earth. If this were to actually happen, Jesus has two questions for you: "And how do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul in the process? Is anything worth more than your soul?" {16} Your answer to these two questions will say a lot about where you are storing your treasures, here on earth or in heaven.

So what does a person need to do in order to begin accumulating treasures in heaven? Matthew tells the story of a rich man who asked Jesus that question:

A man came to Jesus and asked, "Teacher, what good thing must I do to have eternal life?"

Jesus said to him, "Why do you ask me about what is good? Only God is good. If you want to have eternal life, you must obey his commandments."

"Which ones?" the man asked.

Jesus answered, "Do not murder. Be faithful in marriage. Do not steal. Do not tell lies about others. Respect your father and mother. And love others as much as you love yourself." The young man said, "I have obeyed all of these. What else must I do?"

Jesus replied, "If you want to be perfect, go sell everything you own! Give the money to the poor, and you will have riches in heaven. Then come and be my follower." When the young man heard this, he was sad, because he was very rich.

Jesus said to his disciples, "It’s terribly hard for rich people to get into the kingdom of heaven! In fact, it’s easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to get into God’s kingdom."

When the disciples heard this, they were greatly surprised and asked, "How can anyone ever be saved?"

Jesus looked straight at them and said, "There are some things that people cannot do, but God can do anything."

Peter replied, "Remember, we have left everything to be your followers! What will we get?"

Jesus answered: Yes, all of you have become my followers. And so in the future world, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, I promise that you will sit on twelve thrones to judge the twelve tribes of Israel. All who have given up home or brothers and sisters or father and mother or children or land for me will be given a hundred times as much. They will also have eternal life. But many who are now first will be last, and many who are last will be first. {17}

What is the "eternal life" this man is seeking? Christians believe that a person’s spirit (or soul) lives on for eternity after the persons’ physical body dies. What will it be like after a person dies? There are two possibilities. The eternal life this man was seeking is spending eternity in heaven in God’s loving presence. The other possibility is spending eternity away from God’s presence, which is commonly referred to as hell.

Jesus answers the man’s question by saying that he must obey God’s commandments. While the man is familiar with these commandments, he expresses a typical human reaction. Which ones? He was thinking that you only have to obey some of God’s rules but not all of them in order to have eternal life. So Jesus mentions six of God’s commandments. The man thinks he has obeyed all six but wants to know what else he needs to do. Jesus tells him to do two additional things. First, he is to sell all of his worldly possessions and give the proceeds to the poor. Second, he is to leave whatever he has been doing up to this point in his life and become one of Jesus’ followers.

By becoming sad at Jesus’ response, the rich man revealed much about his true character. His unwillingness to sell all that he owned and to follow Jesus showed that his worldly possessions were the true focus of his life. He would not give them up even for eternal life. He preferred treasures on earth to treasures in heaven. His attitude is quite common, as reflected in Jesus comment about how difficult it is for rich people to get into heaven. Their earthly possessions in themselves are not what keep rich people from getting into heaven. Their attitude about their possessions is what causes the problem. Anyone who places a higher priority on worldly possessions than on following God’s guidance in their life will not spend eternity in heaven.

The disciples were surprised at Christ’s comment about how difficult it is for the rich to enter into God’s kingdom. This illustrates two common misconceptions. First, throughout human history many people have held the view that a person’s position in society is an indication of their standing with "god (the gods)". According to this perspective, people are rich on earth because "god (the gods)" is pleased with them and has rewarded them with great wealth. Those who are poor have somehow angered "god (the gods)" and are being punished. If you accept this worldview, the logical conclusion is that rich people will go to heaven and poor people will not. Jesus’ response to Peter clearly shows that this is not the way God works. Anyone who gives up worldly things to follow Jesus "will be given a hundred times as much" as they have given up on earth. They will also receive eternal life. This gives us a hint of the treasures stored up in heaven for those who turn their life over to Christ. It is interesting to note that "many" (but not all) people who have high positions socially, politically, or financially here on earth will have a very low position after they die. And "many" (but not all) of the people who are unimportant by worldly standards will enjoy high positions in eternity. A person’s worldly standing is a poor predictor of what is in store for that person in eternity.

The questions from both the disciples and the rich man reflect a second common misconception. They want to know what a person has to do in order to earn eternal life in heaven. In the world in which we live people are accustomed to working hard for what they have. For example, a student has to work hard in my class to earn a grade of A. Students in our Master of Science in Finance program have to do well in twelve courses to earn their degree. It seems only natural to assume that heaven is like this world. Since we have to earn things here on earth, it seems logical to conclude that we have to earn our way into heaven. This worldview is usually manifested in one of two ways. Some believe that you earn your way into heaven by following God’s rules. For example, the rich man in the story wanted to know which commandments he had to follow. Others believe that you get into heaven by doing a sufficient number of good deeds. Giving money to the poor would certainly qualify as a good deed.

Jesus’ response was very direct. You cannot earn your way into heaven. It is only through what God has done that you are allowed to spend eternity with Him. The rules that God has for you are not the means by which you get to heaven. You would have to obey all of God’s rules perfectly in order to earn the right to spend eternity in heaven. Obeying most of God’s rules most of the time is not good enough. Obeying all of the rules all of the time is the only thing that would be good enough. Unfortunately, the reality is that no human being is capable of doing this. In the book of Romans, Paul tells us "All of us have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory." {18} What does Paul mean by "sin"? He means to disobey God. Paul also tells us that "Sin pays off with death. But God’s gift is eternal life given by Jesus Christ our Lord." {19} The "death" that Paul is talking about here is more than physical death. It is being separated from God for eternity.

The fact that God makes rules for us causes some people problems. They have the impression that God makes rules because He wants to control our lives. Nothing could be further from the truth. God made rules for us for the same reason loving parents make rules for their children. Parents feel that the children will have a better life if they follow the rules established by the parents. God’s rules are designed to provide us with guidance to a better life here on earth. He allows us to choose between obeying His rules and disobeying them. And there are consequences to the choice we make. As Paul points out, the consequence of disobeying is death. In contrast, if you always obeyed God’s rule, you would have eternal life. That’s a big "if". As Paul points out, with the exception of Jesus, no one has been able to do that. So rather than providing a way for us to earn our way into heaven, God’s rules clearly demonstrate to us that we are not good enough to deserve to spend eternity in heaven.

Let’s take a closer look at the view that you can earn your way into heaven by doing enough good deeds or simply by being a good person. There is no doubt that God is pleased when you do a good deed by helping others. And God wants you to be a good person. This is the essence of what Jesus told the rich man by saying "love others as much as you love yourself." If everyone on earth followed this rule, the world would certainly be a better place to live. The truth is, no one acts that way all of the time. So even if you have acted in a selfish way only once in your life, you have broken one of God’s rules and the penalty is eternal separation from Him. To us as humans, this seems rather harsh. How could a loving God condemn people to eternal separation from Him if they only break one rule one time? The answer is that He is also a just God. There are consequences to the choices we make and He would be acting unjustly if He did not enforce those consequences. Furthermore, no matter how hard you try, you cannot do enough good deeds to make up for even one instance of breaking God’s rules. Paul makes this very clear when he states:

You were saved by faith in God, who treats us much better than we deserve. This is God’s gift to you, and not anything you have done on your own. It isn’t something you have earned, so there is nothing you can brag about. {20}

There is no mistaking what Paul said. We cannot save ourselves. We cannot earn our way into heaven either by following God’s rules or by being a good person who does many good deeds.

Does all of this mean we have no hope of getting into heaven? No. Because God loves us, He has provided a way for us. In perhaps the most often quoted verse in the Bible, Jesus explains it this way:

God loved the people of this world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who has faith in him will have eternal life and never really die. God did not send his Son into the world to condemn its people. He sent him to save them! No one who has faith in God’s Son will be condemned. But everyone who doesn’t have faith in him has already been condemned for not having faith in God’s only Son. {21}

Jesus also said:

"I am the way, the truth, and the life! Without me, no one can go to the Father. " {22}

The key to spending eternity in heaven with God is having faith in His son Jesus Christ. Paul refers to this as a gift. What makes something a gift? You receive it as your own without having to pay for it. If you paid for it, it would not be a gift. You cannot earn your way into heaven because then it would not be a gift. It would be something you did on your own. While the gift of eternal life is free to you, it is not free to the one who gave it to you. In this case, the giver is God. The gift cost Him the life of His only son. That demonstrates how much He loves you. Even though you do not pay for this gift, you have to accept it to make it yours. This is the ultimate choice that God has given to everyone. You have only two options. Accept His gift of eternal life by putting your faith in His son Jesus Christ. Or, reject Christ and put your faith in yourself or something else. Spending eternity in the presence of the Lord is more valuable than all the wealth the world has to offer. So what is the secret to becoming truly wealthy? Putting your faith in Jesus Christ. The choice is up to you.

End Notes
Unless noted otherwise, the following footnotes came from The Contemporary English translation of the Bible.

{1}Ecclesiastes 2:1-11

{2}Ecclesiastes 10-17

{3}Proverbs 23: 4-5

{4}Proverbs 11:24-26

{5}Proverbs 15:6

{6}Proverbs 11:28

{7}Proverbs 16:8

{8}Proverbs 1:19

{9}Proverbs 28:22

{10}Proverbs 30:8-9

{11}Job 20: 20-29

{12}Matthew 6:19-21

{13}1 Timothy 6:5-10

{14}Luke 12: 48 New Living translation

{15}Luke 12: 15-21

{16}Matthew 16:26

{17}Matthew 9:16-29

{18}Romans 3:23

{19}Romans 6:23

{20}Ephesians 2: 8-9

{21}John 3:16-18

{22}John 14:6