7 things the rich and the poor have in common?

In life people are not all the same. We have the male and female, young and old, funny and unfunny, brilliant and dull and we also have the rich and the poor. 

Whenever people talk about the rich and the poor, they always talk about the differences between the two of them. The first thing that usually comes to mind is that one is having abundance while the other one lacks even the most basic things needed in life. Before I started writing this, I asked some people what is the first thing that comes into their mind when they hear the word, "rich and poor." The answers I got is still the obvious, one said the first thing is that one is rich and the other is poor, that I should relate to that. Another person told
me that "a poor man is happy and a rich man is not." 

All these answers above shows one thing that, whenever people hear the word "rich and poor," what comes into their mind is their differences. Most people do not bother to see if their is any similarity between them. 

Well, the rich and the poor may be different. One may live in a glass house decorated with gold. And the other in a mud house with leakages in the roof. 

One may eat the best meal and dine with the royals. The other may feed on crumbles and often go to bed hungry. 

One may ride a very big car and the other may have to walk for miles under the scorching of the sun.  

One may have many friends and the other many debts to pay. 

One may sleep on live in luxury and the other may barely have nothing. 

Not minding all this distinctions, there is still a lot off similarities between both. Of course, one has more and the other has less. As people, we focus too much on this differences that we don't even bother to see the high level of correlation that exist between the both of them. 

There are several of them and I'm sure by the time you are through reading this, your mind will be open to see more things that they still have in common. 

• They were both created by God: let me start with the obvious; they were both created by God. In Proverbs 22:2, the Bible says, "The rich and poor have this in common: The lord made them both." No matter how rich a person may be or how poor the person may be, God made them both. So what is in life that we should let riches differentiate us? Always appreciate the state you find yourself today and know that God has not forgotten you. He is your maker, your creator. Let the rich not look down on the poor as if he is nothing. God made him as well. Let the poor not think of the rich as a god. They were both made the same way. 

• They both have 24 to use in a day: so many poor people waste so much time thinking less of themselves. They blame almost everything for their misfortune. They fail to realize that the rich are in no way favoured by by nature, neither is more time allocated to them. Most rich people have come to understand this fact. So instead of wasting time on useless projects - socializing instead of working, relaxing instead of reading - and engaging in all sort of  useless activities, they'll rather spend their time doing things that are worthwhile. If a poor man can realize this, that in the bank of time, the rich and the poor have the same value to withdraw from each day, then he might be able to make better his life. The poor cannot buy more time neither can the rich sell more time. 

• They both have a mind: mankind most valuable asset, the mind, has been given both to the rich and the poor. The mindset is what makes the difference. The configuration of the mind of a rich is most time set to believe he can do more. But the poor man (probably not all) has a mind configured to believe in average, a mediocre mind. No wonder the bible says in Proverbs 4: 23, " the most important thing is for you to be careful of what you think. Your thoughts control your life. What you put into your mind is what determines whether you are rich or poor. Let the rich continue to fill his mind with rich thoughts and he will never be poor. And let the poor learn to fill his mind with rich thoughts and he will not always be poor. 

•  They are both not satisfied: The bible said in proverbs 30: 16, that four things are never satisfied :the grave, the barren womb, the thirsty desert, the blazing fire. I will also like to add to the list, the rich and the poor because they are both not satisfied. The rich man is always thinking of ways to get more riches. Maybe he is scared all his money may suddenly grow wings and fly away. The poor man also wish to have more, he is never satisfied with his state of misery. He believes if he gets more riches life would be more comfortable. But as he gets more, he is no longer contended, he wants to have more. The poor and the rich are both miserable. One by the riches he has and the other by the riches he wants. This shows that riches won't bring satisfaction. Riches won't bring contentment. If the rich and the poor understand this, life will be more pleasant for the two of them. No wonder the bible says in Proverbs 10: 22, "The blessing of the lord makes a person rich, and he adds no sorrow with it." And this is the true freedom for the rich and the poor - the blessing of the Lord. 

• They both fall in love : love is such a beautiful thing that even the rich cannot buy. It is a beautiful thing that even the poor man can afford. That is love, it does not exempt anyone, rich or poor, or what have you. My version of the Bible beautiful put it in Proverbs 30:18-19, "There are four things that are too mysterious for me to understand : ... A man and a woman falling in love." Nobody should be deny of that, whether rich or poor, they both have the right to fall in love. The rich should not let his riches confuse him, true love does not rely on what you have. The poke should not be bothered because true love does not come for what you have. 

• They both have feelings and emotions: I have seen the rich cry before and I have seen the poor soaked in tears as well. They are both humans with flesh and blood, feelings and emotions. I have seen the rich become sad when his spoilt brat refuse to listen to him. And I have also seen a sad poor man whose strong headed son would not listen to simple instructions. The rich man is affected when he loses his wife and a poor man who lost his wife is not happy. No wonder it is said, "the rich also cry." But who says the poor does not also cry. 

•  They will both die: that's the sad part of life that so many people try to escape but it is inevitable.  Both the rich and the poor will one day sleep not to wake up. The earth will then become a blanket for them. The darkness of the grave the only light they will see. The only thing that will be remembered after their death is the work they have done here on earth. I read about Mozart, one of the best musicians of all time. He struggled with poverty till the day he died. But today no one remembers him for the level of riches he had but rather the richness of the works he did here on earth. Shakespeare was not as popular as he is today when he was alive. But after his death he became even more famous. 

Riches will not last forever. Poverty has not come to permanently stay. Life is more than making wealth and accumulating riches. There is more to life. You were created for a purpose and unless you find the essence of living you are merely existing. 

On a last note, I will like you to consider this maybe you will find a reason for living:Matthew  6:19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:  6:20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:  6:21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.