I've been doing some thinking lately and have come to a few conclusions. Right or wrong, here is what I have decided (for now at least). When I was young people wanted to get ahead in life. But that didn't mean being the richest person around. It meant providing well for your family; no hunger or pain, a few pleasures, maybe a vacation every year or so. Being with family and friends was important because they helped make your life complete; they made you who you were. There was time for what was important, God. The difference now is that it isn't good enough to provide well. You need to provide very well, and your level of comparison is not just people in the town where you live, but people from all over the world. Providing well has little to do with hunger and pain, but more to do with electronics and private schools. The few pleasures fill the house and overflow into storage sheds, and vacations are world travels. This leaves very little time for what used to be considered important. There is little time for family, less for friends (when is the last time you played cards with friends?), and though God may get a cursory glimpse on Sundays, He really isn't given much importance. Your wealth is what makes you who you are now, not family, not friends, and not God. Those are my conclusions. I don't have solutions yet.