"The story is told of two wealthy men who became bankrupt, for years they had been business leaders side-by-side in the same city.
In a financial crisis, both of them lost all their money and their property, but one of these men had something he did not lose", writes columnist John R. Gunn, " It was that something that scripture refers to as a better and an enduring substance."
A close friend had this to say of him, "In his poverty he kept his honor, his self-respect, his faith in God. His misfortune revealed that he had an inner strength independent of material wealth."
But what about the other man? His experience was entirely different - he had nothing but money and when that was gone, there was no other pleasure or satisfaction for him. He ceased to respect other men, lost all respect for himself. In his desperation he committed forgery and from then on was despised and shunned as a criminal in the community where he had once been regarded as an honorable citizen.
This story carries its own lesson - men make a great mistake when they stake their life and happiness upon the fluctuating markets of this world. The wise man is the man who has learned the secret of trade in Heaven's market, where the gain is a better and an induring substance.
It is the love of God and fellow men which truly enriches life and lays up treasure in Heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where theives do not break in and steal.