Dubai, United Arab Emirates
We took a day trip to Abu Dhabi where we visited the Grand Emirates Palace Hotel. It was palatial indeed. They literally flaunted wealth. They have a vending machine which dispatches bars of gold! We had lunch there with Steve and Karen and they treated me to a camel burger which was served with 24 carrot gold flakes on top of the meat! We ate 24 carot gold. It puts a new light on the understanding that wealth is a transitory and passing thing. 😉
When you travel you are exposed to the contrasting levels of wealth among various peoples and places including your own. I have always known that wealth is a relative thing. Our lifestyle is wealthy compared to some places and poor to others. For example, in Dubai we can see among some people a lifestyle which grovels in wealth. There are people here who own multiple palaces. They will have not one, but a entire fleet of Lamborghini’s. They will pay over one hundred thousand Canadian dollars for a single liscense plate with only two numbers on it because it is a sign of status. When placed alongside one of them, you or I would be considered relatively poor!
Within the same city there are Bedouins living in dirty tents alongside the road watching over a small flock of goats. When placed alongside one of them, you or I would be considered relatively wealthy. The more important question is “who am I?” And our wealth has very little to do with the answer to that question. Yet what we do with wealth does have a reflection upon the question of “who am I?”
The Bible teaches that we are to use wealth for the Glory of God because all that we receive has come from His hands. That we are not to set our hearts upon owning things but upon seeking God’s Kingdom first and God will provide all that we need. That we are to share with those who are in need and be content, even thankful for all the blessings of God in our lives.
1 Timothy 6:18, 19: “Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.”
Click the photos below to view them full-size…
Camel Burger with 24 carat gold flakes
Grand Mosque Abu Dhabi
Sand dunes
I’ll take an ounce please 🙂