Years
ago, in London, Sir Moses Montefiore, the well known industrialist and
philanthropist, was meeting with the British Queen over tea. In a very
“un-British” manner, the Queen asked, “So tell me, Sir Moses, what are you
worth?”. He replied, “My dear Queen, please allow me to go through my
records and I will present you the information in a week.”
So they met again for tea and Sir Moses presented the Queen with an
accounting of his “Worth”. To which the Queen commented, “Sir Moses, this
is truly a very large amount, but I personally know that your holdings in
a particular project are worth more than this.”
Sir Moses smiled and said, “My dear Queen, you are mistakenly comparing
how much money I have vs. How Much I Am Worth. The money I have, God gave
to me, and it can be taken away at any time. It is not truly mine.
The amount I gave you on the paper is what I have given away to help
others – to build hospitals and support orphanages, to help my brothers
and sisters the world over. This is what I am worth, as it can never be
taken away from me.
