"Are you rich by what you have or by what you are ? "
"What do you value the most - your valuables or your values ?"
"Who is the richest ? " "Who is the happiest ?"
"Is he the one who has property worth in millions or the one who himself is worth...
If you get what you want in your struggle for self, And the world makes you king for a day; Just go to the mirror and look at yourself, And see what those eyes have to say !
For it isn't your father, your mother, or your brother Who upon you their judgement will come to pass; The person whose verdict counts the most in your life Is the one staring back from the glass !
You may fool the world down the pathway of years, And get pats on your back, as you pass, But your final reward will be headache or tears, If you've cheated the one in the glass ! If you've cheated the one in the glass !
Good morning to one and all present here. Respected judges, honourable dignitaries, dear teachers and my fellow Nobilians. I'm standing before you today to present my thoughts on the topic, "For What Shall It Profit A Man If He Gained The Whole World But Lost His Soul".
Who is the richest ? Who is the happiest ? Is he the one who has property worth in millions or the one who himself is worth in millions ? Are you rich by what you have or by what you are ? What do you value the most - your valuables or your values ?
Dr. Faustus, a character in Christopher Marlowe's play. He had everything- wealth, health, name, fame, intelligence except for one thing and that was, contentment. He wanted to rule the world, become the lord of the universe, raise people from the dead, cut the ocean into two and become immortal. What did he do ? He embraced black magic and bartered his soul to Lucifer for power.
What do you think, was he happy ?
Well, indeed he was but as you know glory leads to the grave and he ended up in his deathbed, moribund. He weeped, begged, he craved for salvation but he had to go to hell.
Where is Lucifer? Is he sitting on the throne of hell or is he sitting on throne of all evil in our heart within us ?
We have celebrities, actors and actresses who we love, whom we adore. They have everything in the world yet when you turn on your Television, you see them advertising tobacco, cigarette, alcohol, things which can and are killing their own fans. What do you think, are they really successful by bartering their dignity for a little bit of money.
On our Judgement Day, God will not ask us why did we not become as rich and successful as those so-called celebrities. He will not ask us what fraction of our huge wealth did we donate to the poor. He will not even ask us how many vaults of money were we able to fill with gold. He will simply ask us if we were true to our values and loyal to our soul?
Nature's first green is gold, Her hardest hue to hold. Her early leaf's a flower; But only so an hour. Then leaf subsides to leaf. So Eden sank to grief, So dawn goes down to day. Nothing gold can stay. Nothing gold can stay.
Robert Frost made it clear that nothing gold can stay whether it is our wealth, health, name, fame or even happiness. It'll all fade and wither away but the one thing that'll stay is what our God has to say.
So, let's not succumb to a cinch of temptation and become low for a heap of money or a pile of gold, instead, let's stay true to our word and firm in our resolve.
In the end, I'd like to ask you a question. How would you like to be remembered?
Do you wish to be remembered as the one who gained everything in the world but lost his values or The one who lost everything valuable but not his soul?
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