If you could be not only rich, but super rich, would you be happy? The answer seems simple. After all, doesn’t everyone want to be rich so they can be happy? But what if being “rich” is not synonymous with being happy? What if true happiness is the product of a different pursuit? A pursuit that is within your grasp and is for everyone—not just those with large bank accounts.

Would you say that the Koch Brothers, Tiger Woods, and Taylor Swift are happy? I’m not saying they aren’t, but I am saying that being rich has always been a pretty poor guarantor of happiness. In some cases, there’s even an inverse relationship between their wealth and their happiness.

Rich people aren’t rich because they have treasure. They’re rich—or internally fulfilled—because of how they allocate their treasure.

To explore my theory, let me introduce you to the wealthiest man who ever lived. Forget Bill Gates or Warren Buffet. Let’s go all the way to the top. According to many respected authorities, the richest man who ever lived has held the number one spot for more than three thousand years—and no one has surpassed him yet. Nor is there anyone in recorded history whose wealth has been greater. He was King Solomon of Israel.

Not only is Solomon believed to have had more wealth than all the other examples we could choose, he also wrote extensively about his experiences with wealth. So we have an excellent case study of the relationship between being rich and being happy.

One of the most valuable aspects of Solomon’s life is that we get insight into the thought lives of the mega-rich. Solomon shares his most basic, unedited emotions for the world to see. Unabashedly, he recounts the extreme pleasure of fulfilling his wildest dreams—and he mourns the reality that some of his most basic needs can’t be met with money.

According to some of our best historical documents, King Solomon enjoyed every form of luxury imaginable, and he spent his time how he wished. Yet somehow the secret to happiness eluded him. He had wealth, health, family, and religion. But when you read his accounts, it’s obvious that this richest man in the world was also one of the poorest in terms of happiness. No doubt that today a doctor would put him on anti-depressants. Just to put Solomon’s life into perspective, let’s compare his lifestyle and net worth in today’s terms.

Although it’s hard to translate the value of Solomon’s gold into modern U.S. currency, most scholars estimate his base annual salary was more than half a billion dollars. In addition, ancient records indicate gifts of gold from neighboring countries totaling nearly 100,000 pounds. At today’s prices, let’s just say that would be somewhere in the billions.

Solomon also owned 12,000 horses, 1,400 chariots, and vast stores of ivory, spices, and precious stones. He controlled palaces, cities, and collected a portion of all trade between countries to the north and south. He was loaded. And he did not withhold his heart from any pleasure. He lavished every conceivable perk on himself.

In our culture today, it’s hard to picture what it was really like to be Solomon. If anyone held the dream of happiness in the palm of his hand, it was him. So imagine the angst he must have felt when he realized he was anything but happy. Instead, he was in agony and despair. He wrote, “. . . I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me. All of it is meaningless, a chasing after the wind. I hated all the things I had toiled for under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 2:17). What a terrific object lesson Solomon’s life is for us. His life is a perfectly crafted message that shows that “rich” does not equal “happy”.

The life of Solomon illustrates what I call “The Law of Fulfillment.” This law states that we’ll be fulfilled when we expend our time, talent, and treasure for the good of others. This has certainly been true in my life. You don’t have to be wealthy to be rich. Richness is embodied in the beautiful and simple phrase spoken by our Lord Jesus: “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35). So please keep the lesson of Solomon and these words of Jesus in mind when you think about pursuing riches. They might be closer than you think.

Additional Resources

You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough!  The Blueprint for Life curriculum is designed to help you live the life you were born to live.  It contains an eight week Bible study and audio messages featuring Andy Stanley, Louie Giglio, Tony Evans, John Maxwell and others.  CLICK HERE to preview the BFL study.