Of Peace and Contentment of Mind, Book 3 · Chapter 5
CHAP. V Of Deſire of Wealth and Honour.
What I have ſayd of wealth and honours will perſuade any man of good ſenſe that they are not ſatisfying objects of a mans deſire, & therefore not to be eagerly followed. It is our Saviours conſequence, Luk. 12.15. Take heed and beware of covetouſnes, for mans life conſiſteth not in the abundance of things which he poſſeſſeth: It is alſo St Johns conſequence, who forbids us to love the world and the things that are in it, becauſe the world paſſeth away; 1 Joh. 2. Theſe are two powerfull reaſons to moderate the deſire of the things of this world, drawne from their nature: The one that they are not neceſſary, the other that they are tranſitory: And yet the covetous and ambitious ſeeke after them as if life conſiſted in them, or they were to endure for ever. Which they cannot thus deſire without turning their affection from the onelyonly neceſſary and permanent thing which is God; Matth. 6.24. You cannot ſerve God and Mammon, ſaith the Lord Ieſus. For as when a channel is cut for a river in a ground lower then her bed, all the water will fall where it finds a ſlope, and leaves her former channel dry. Likewiſe the deſire of man, whoſe true channel is the love of God, will turne the whole affection of the ſoule towards low earthly things when that ſlope deſcent of covetouſnes and ambition is made in the heart, and nothing is left for God.
For it is improperly ſpoken that a man pretending to great worldly honours is aſpiring too high; Rather he is ſtooping too low, for the moſt precious things of the world, yea and the whole world, are very much under the excellency of mans ſoule, and more yet below the dignity of Gods children. Who ſo then enſlaveth his ſoule of heavenly origine, and called to a divine honour unto temporal things, which in this low world cannot be but low, debaſeth his dignity moſt unworthily. And in all earthly things, high or low condition makes but little unequality, for ſtill it is earth; Hills and dales are alike, compared with their diſtance from Heaven.
But what? as the Iſraelites quitted Gods ſervice to worſhip the golden calfe, the luſter of gold and honour will ſo dazell mens eyes and inflame their deſires that they tranſport unto things of this world that devout love which they owe unto God. Wherefore St Paul ſaith that covetouſnes is idolatrie. Col. 3. And it is no wonder, that the ſenſual objects prevaile more upon Nature then the ſpirituall.
Yet covetous and ambitious deſires are not properly natural, but enormities of nature; for little proviſion ſerveth nature, whereas if all the waters of the ſea were potable gold, they would not quench the thirſt of covetouſnes. Nature is contented with a meane degree, but crownes heaped up to heaven would yet be too low for ambition. Greedines is an unthankfull Vice. It makes a man ſo thirſty after that he hath not, that he forgets what he hath, and thinks not himſelfe advanced though he ſee a great many behind, as long as he ſeeth yet ſome before him. He cannot enjoy that he hath, becauſe he hangs upon that he hath not. Thus he is allwayes needy, diſcontented, unquiet, and ſpares his enemies the labour to find him a continual vexation. And whereas the proper uſe for which Deſire was given to man, is to ſupply his neceſsities, he makes uſe of his deſire to multiply his neceſsities.
To that ſicknes theſe are the proper remedies. The firſt is to abridge our deſire, and be contented with little. To him that contenteth himſelfe with little, little is much: But to him that is not contented with much, much is little.
To abridge our deſire wee muſt beare downe our pride: That which makes a man think a great wealth to be too little for him, is his too great eſteeme of himſelfe. Whereas the humble and meeke, though they have but little, think they have more then they deſerve. Who ſo will calmly compare what he deſerveth with that which God hath given him, ſhall find great matter to humble himſelf, and praiſe God, and ſilence the murmuring of his greedines. Let us remember our beginning. Being borne naked a little milke and a few baby clouts ſerved us. Who would think that ſome yeares after, whole kingdomes could not ſatiſfie us? Yet our need ſince that time is not much increaſed. 1. Tim. 6.8. Having food and raiment, wee may be therewith content. A little is ſufficient for neceſſary deſires, but for curious and ſuperfluous deſires the whole world is too little.
Let us employ our greedy deſire to heale it ſelf, conſidering that this greedines for the wealth and honour of the world ſpoiles the enjoyment, and takes all content from it; for no man hath joy in theſe things but he that uſeth them as not uſing them: That greedines makes us ſeeke them with torment, poſſeſſe them with unquietnes, and loſe them with anguiſh. Yea many times greedines hindereth the acquiſition. Good fortune ſeldome yeelds to them that will raviſh her, but to the wiſe and moderate, who though they loſe no opportunity, woe her as little concerned in her, and are alwayes prepared for the repulſe.
That wee ſpend no more about worldy fortune then it is worth, Put in one ſcale the ſplendour of honour and the plenty of wealth. Put in the other ſcale the labour to get them, the care and vexation to keepe them, the peril, the envy, the loſſe of time, the temptations offered to the conſcience, the ſtealing of a mans thoughts from God, and the danger of loſing heaven while wee goe about to get the earth; Then the incapacity of thoſe goods to ſatiſfie the deſire, their weakenes, their uncertainty, and how one infortunate moment deſtroyes the labour of many yeares, and then judge whether they be worth enflaming our deſire and enſlaving our affections.
With the uncertainty of theſe poſſeſſions conſider the uncertainty of the poſſeſſours, that nothing is frailer then mans life, nothing more certaine then his death, nothing more uncertaine then the hour. What need we lay up much treaſure ſince we muſt loſe all? What need to get up very high to fall to the ground, and there to rot?
And whereas the tranquillity and contentment of man conſiſteth in the things that are within him, not in them that are about him, When he turnes his principall deſire and the whole bent of his mind to things that are without, he goeth out of himſelfe, and ſubjecteth himſelfe to another; He begs of another that which none but God and himſelfe can give him: He makes his content to depend on that which is out of his power. A wiſe man will take heed of that, and will call-in his deſire to his owne breaſt, where he ſhall finde God if he ſeek him well, and in God his onelyonly felicity. Let us be covetous to be rich in God, and ambitious to draw neare him.
Indeed ſince our body and life are maintained with things that are without us we cannot but deſire them, as things which our neceſſity calls for. Beſides which, our condition and the courſe of the world makes many outward things to become neceſſary which in themſelves are not ſo. All theſe wee may deſire, ſo it bee with an infericur deſire, quietly ſubjected and ſubordinate to that Maſter-deſire which muſt make a whole burnt-offering of the ſoul to God alone, that we may ſay to God with an entire and free heart, as Iſaiah did, Iſa. 26.8. The deſire of our ſoul is to thy name, O Lord, and to the remembrance of thee. With my ſoul have I deſired thee in the night, yea with my ſpirit within me will I ſeeke thee. Bleſſed we! that our ſpirit needs but to ſeeke within himſelfe, to finde the full ſatisfaction of his deſire, if he have the grace to deſire what he ought.