By Bishop Chris Hildenbrand
“Garbage Mary,” as she was dubbed by the media, was picked up by the police in a shopping mall in Delray Beach, Florida. She was a filthy mess – and so were her cat and two-bedroom apartment. Neighbors told of her scrounging through garbage cans in search of food, which she took back to her apartment. Police found the garbage everywhere: in the refrigerator, in the stove, in the sink, in the cabinets - even in the bathtub.
But they found other things as well. They found Mobil Oil stock worth more than $400,000. They found documents indicating she owned oil fields in Kansas, stock certificates from prominent firms, and passbooks from eight large bank accounts. Police also discovered that Garbage Mary was the daughter of a well-to-do lawyer and bank director from Illinois, who had died several years earlier.
Garbage Mary was a millionaire, but she lived like a pauper. Great wealth was at her fingertips, but she spent her life sifting through garbage and trash.
The Word of God teaches that we are children of the King and that we are part of a royal family. This being true, why do we desire the earthly over the heavenly? Why do we scrounge around looking for things that do not satisfy, when just one drink from the well of salvation can quench our thirst forever? Why are we broke, when the riches of heaven are ours? Why live like Garbage Mary, when we can live like the child of the King?
“Garbage Mary,” as she was dubbed by the media, was picked up by the police in a shopping mall in Delray Beach, Florida. She was a filthy mess – and so were her cat and two-bedroom apartment. Neighbors told of her scrounging through garbage cans in search of food, which she took back to her apartment. Police found the garbage everywhere: in the refrigerator, in the stove, in the sink, in the cabinets - even in the bathtub.
But they found other things as well. They found Mobil Oil stock worth more than $400,000. They found documents indicating she owned oil fields in Kansas, stock certificates from prominent firms, and passbooks from eight large bank accounts. Police also discovered that Garbage Mary was the daughter of a well-to-do lawyer and bank director from Illinois, who had died several years earlier.
Garbage Mary was a millionaire, but she lived like a pauper. Great wealth was at her fingertips, but she spent her life sifting through garbage and trash.
The Word of God teaches that we are children of the King and that we are part of a royal family. This being true, why do we desire the earthly over the heavenly? Why do we scrounge around looking for things that do not satisfy, when just one drink from the well of salvation can quench our thirst forever? Why are we broke, when the riches of heaven are ours? Why live like Garbage Mary, when we can live like the child of the King?