If you’re looking for an article about how to make half a trillion dollars in one year to become the richest person in the world, you won’t find that here.

You will find something worth much more than half a trillion dollars, though.

---

When my daughter was a couple months old, I took her out on a walk in the park near my house. We both needed some fresh air and her mother needed some time alone. (Shout-out to all the new moms out there. Nobody truly knows how taxing motherhood is except for you.)

As I got to the park, I saw a father and his young son—maybe 2 or 3 years old—running around. I took a few laps around the park, listening to a podcast as I pushed the stroller. At some point, we walked within earshot of the dad and his son. The dad said something to me and—blame it on the sleep deprivation or the podcast—I didn’t quite catch what he said.

But I think I know what he said. At least, I hope I know what he said. With a smile and a twinkle in his eye, I think he said to me, “The wealthiest men in the neighborhood.”

The wealthiest men in the neighborhood. I laughed. Between the price of diapers, formula, and medical bills, I knew he wasn’t talking about net worth.

But I also laughed because I think he’s right.

Psalm 127:3 says:

Children are a gift from the Lord;
    they are a reward from him.

Listen to the words used to describe children: gift, reward. These are financial terms. It’s as if Psalm 127 could go on to say, “Wealthy is the one who is a father or mother.”

---

I tucked away this encounter with a stranger at a park until mid-November, when one of my favorite artists, Ben Rector, released the song, “The Richest Man in the World.”

I’ve known about Ben Rector for a few years. But last year, before going to a concert that he was the opener for, I listened to all of his music. And I LOVED it.

In contrast to many other musical artists, he seems to value things like family and love and God and authenticity. His music is beautiful and moving and inspiring. If you haven’t heard his music before, go check him out.

When I saw that he released new music, I dropped everything and listened to the three songs he released. The first one I listened to, “The Richest Man in the World,” begins like this:

“When I get to heaven
And we’re lined up outside the pearly gates
While we’re all walking, small talking, mingling
I already know what I’m gonna say

When we all trade stories
Of what we did with our lives
I won’t say that I played music or could sing
When it’s my turn I think I’ll smile

Say I was
The richest man in the world
Father to a baby girl
And two boys that I know loved me
Was famous to a few good friends
And beside me til the end
Was my wife who is so lovely
And I don’t know who could ask for any more
I’m the richest man in the world.”

It’s been said that nobody ever gets to the end of their life and talks about how they wish they had made more money. I’m guessing people don’t care about the size of their business or how much stuff they know. At the end of their life, people tend to think about the people they love and the people that love them.

What if we could bear that in mind when we make New Year’s Resolutions or set goals or make priorities? What if we believed that what makes us truly wealthy are the relationships we cultivate? What if we believed that our greatest assets aren’t stocks and bonds and savings accounts, but our marriage and our children?

What if?

---

At a Christmas market this year, a gentleman in good shape and a puffy vest with gray hair and a big smile passed by. Next to him was a similar-looking man in his 30s and much less gray hair. Next to him was a little girl in a bright pink dress and bouncing pigtails.

I turned to my wife and said, “I want to be that man.” Not the man in his 30s. The man in the puffy vest. In him, I saw a man who had spent his life investing in relationships with his son and his grandchild. I saw a man who cared about his health so that he could chase after his granddaughter. I saw a man who wasn’t trying to climb a corporate ladder at the end of his career and instead, was spending time with his family.

I want to be that man.

But men like that aren’t made overnight. They’re men that realize that, in their 20s in a new career, their wealth isn’t in a paycheck or promotion. Their wealth isn’t in influence and fame.

Their wealth is in a diaper. It’s in a picture frame in a wedding dress. It’s in their family.

---

I’ve always been a goal-setter. I tend to come to the end of the year with about 15 goals for the new year, give or take. And yet, strangely enough, at the end of 2024, I had precisely zero goals for 2025.

I don’t think it’s a coincidence that 2024 was my first full trip around the sun as a father. That changes things for me. Rather than goals to achieve, I have a few things I want to do. I want to read my Bible more and allow God to tell me how to be a better father. I want to take better care of my health so I can chase after my daughter’s children in my 60s, 70s, and 80s. I want to journal more and talk with people about how I can be a better husband and father.

Sure, I want to make an impact beyond my home. I have hopes for my congregation and for this blog. But if I fail at all those other things and succeed at home, then I’ll have invested my time into my greatest riches.

So maybe I’ve already achieved my 2025 goal. Maybe I’m already the…

Richest man in the world
Father to a baby girl
Son to folks that I know love me
Famous to a few good friends
And beside me til the end
Is my wife who is so lovely

And I don’t know who could ask for any more.

Sincerely,
The Richest Man in the World

Thanks for reading! If you’d like to check out some of my most recent blog posts, click below:

• Why Do We Celebrate Lent?
• What We Lose When We Forget the Image of God
• Fasting and Abstinence: A Path to Dependence on God (the 19)
• The Five Best Books I Read in 2025
• Why Does Good Theology Matter?

And if you’d like to get all my newest blog posts sent directly to your inbox, subscribe below: