The understanding of the phrases, Mind Transformation and Wealth Acquisition and the insights we have in articulating their relevance in life is the subject of this essay.
An average human being believes that being wealthy is the greatest achievement in life. So, everybody, young and old, has the mentality of channelling all their time and energy to fight poverty and pursue wealth acquisition at all costs. The big question is, Is the acquisition of wealth the most valuable pursuit in life?
My answer to this is derived from the bible passage about the transformation of Jesus in His transfiguration. In this account, Jesus Christ transformed into a radiant figure of glory on the mountain, in the presence of Peter, James and John. It was recorded that Moses and Elijah also appeared and a voice from heaven said “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him”.(Mark 9:2-8). The story of the transfiguration of Jesus and His transformation where he heard from God and received God’s honour revealed His divine and eternal glory and it is a testament to the superiority of transformation over acquisition of any sort.
From a spiritual standpoint, God confirmed Jesus’s identity as his son and made him superior over others present in the transfiguration when he was transformed in body and mind and received a glimpse of God’s glory. That transformation conferred the distinction, dignity and honour of Jesus and it was a conviction of the witnesses (Peter, James and John) that Jesus is greater than the prophets ( Moses and Elijah) and the revelation of the new covenant with God. In essence, God chose a mind transformation rather than wealth acquisition to announce Jesus’s glory.
The word “transformed” is a Greek word that means “METAMORPHOSIS”, which we are familiar with. Just Like the butterfly metamorphizes, our life too can metamorphize. It simply means to change the form from a particular way to a better form. It launches a new hope, a new identity, a new destiny, a new personality, a new disposition, a new possibility, a new power and of course, new results and blessings.
Transformation of mind in the context of this article entails a positive change in attitudes, mentality, behaviours, mindset and principles. It means that a perspective shaped by wrong cultural values and family traditions, wrong school and church teachings, dirty information from different sources including the Internet, misleading belief systems and wrong ideology, needs a mind transformation. Without this, wealth acquisition holds no value because wealth acquisition is merely about gaining possessions while mind transformation solidifies it.
The mind of every child is still young, naive and innocent. There is a battle of mind evolution going on daily in a child’s mind as he grows. There are influences he’s battling with and the stronger influence affects his personality and decisions. The thoughts processed in the mind are the greatest control of life and transforming these thoughts into imparting significance should be the greatest teaching of every parent/teacher and the highest drive of every child. Thus, winning the battle of mind transformation for a secure and fulfilled future is the greatest asset in life, better than the acquisition of riches and affluence.
Though wealth acquisition and mind transformation are two independent societal values and both necessary for living a good life, they are valued differently and it is pertinent that we prioritize their values because they bear different fruits.
Transformation happens in the mind, in the belief, and the ideology and it is progressive and
continuous. To be transformed means to think like, look like, behave like, and talk like a person of value. Being transformed means living above past mistakes/failures and with it, no circumstance or negative opinion can impede securing a fulfilling future. It is a lifelong investment with infinite value. On the other hand, wealth acquisition happens on the surface. It is the physical possession or manual control of valuable items. It can be created, transferred, stolen or degraded and valued
From every indication, the most powerful tool used to achieve relevance and success in life is the power of discovering the truth and acting on it through mind transformation. The decision to embrace transformation and a renewal of the mind is the beginning of a happy, joyful and fulfilled life. It yields greater value than wealth and riches because its foundation is more solid and its legacy is lifelong.
Just like it is objectionable to sacrifice well-being for recognition, it is objectionable to sacrifice wealth acquisition for mind transformation. This is because our sense of worth comes from who we have become not what we have acquired.
✍️Amara Ann Unachukwu
