We continue with the advantages of the Baal Bitachon. This one, at first glance, seems to go in circles.
כי הבוטח בה' לא ימנענו רב הממון מבטוח בה', מפני שאיננו סומך על הממון,
For the Baal Bitachon, having a lot of money won’t interfere with relying on Hashem, because he doesn’t rely on his money.
If you’re a Baal Bitachon, that attitude allows you to keep your Bitachon even when you have wealth. That’s the advantage: Keeping your Bitachon.
A person that relies on himself and makes money will lose his Bitachon, but a person that makes money and knows it’s not because of his own powers but because of his Bitachon, having more money won’t take away his Bitachon, because he’s always relying on Hashem.
The Brisker Rav wonders how wealthy people can even survive because the wealth is such a challenge. He understands how poor people do, because they have Bitachon, but how do the wealthy sustain it?
One of the challenges of wealth is the tendency to think you’re in charge and then start relying on yourself. That’s not a healthy way to live.
The advantage of Bitachon is that when you do make money, you’ll still have your Bitachon and won’t lose this important tool, the proper attitude, for your whole life.
As we have been speaking about in the last few classes, what often makes people’s lives miserable is that they think they’re in control. The key to a happy life is surrendering control.
If you have Bitachon and the right attitude but then start to make money and think you can do whatever you want, go on trips, buy cars, buy this, do that, and think you’re in control, you’re making a big mistake and putting yourself in a very dismal situation. The worst attitude in life is thinking “I’m in control, I’m in charge, I plan, and I do.”
We have to be able to have the money, yet not lose out from the negativity that often comes with it.
In the Hovot HaLevavot’s words, the right attitude should be:
והוא בעיניו כפקדון
We have to look at it as a deposit.
It should be as if someone asks you manage a lot of their money for them as a favor. As if they said: “You can use it as you’d like but it’s a deposit, and I’m even going to tell you how to spend it.” They’ll give you millions to spend, but at the end of the day, it’s theirs.
His words are
אל פנים מיוחדים.
It’s your money, but I have certain conditions for it. I want you to give 10%. to charity, for example.
Can you begrudge donating that $100,000 when someone has given you a million dollars? Of course not. It’s not yours. You can use it under certain conditions, for a certain amount of time- בזמן קצוב
And if that’s the case, he says,
ואם יתמיד קיומו אצלו, לא יבעט בעבורו ולא יזכור טובתו
Even if you get to have it for a long time, you don’t get arrogant
I know a man who works at Chase Bank. This employee wears a Chase tie while at the bank, but when I see him elsewhere, he doesn’t have that tie on.
We should imagine that we are working in G-d’s bank, wearing our Chase tie. When someone takes money out of their safety deposit box, remember, it’s G-d’s bank not yours. We are the tellers.
We should be wearing our “Chase” tie to remind ourselves.
The litmus test is that as the tellers, do we get mad if we give someone money and they don’t thank us? - It’s not ours. It’s the banks. It’s Hashem’s.
לא יזכר טובתו למי שציוה לתת לו ממנו
The Baal Bitachon doesn’t need a thank-you when he donates a large sum because he knows it’s not really his to begin with.
But if you are the type that gives a donation and then gets upset when people don’t appreciate it, you need to calm down and remind yourself that you’re just a bank teller.
What does the Baal Bitachon do?
מודה לבוראו יתברך, אשר שמהו סיבה לטובתו
He thanks G-d that he appointed us and entrusted us to be a treasurer in His bank. That’s how he looks at it. As a job. You work in the bank and get a good salary for doing it. Say thank you.
That’s the attitude of the Baal Bitachon and it makes life much more pleasurable.