# A New Vision Of Money - 9: An Empty Vault  Everything we consider valuable, we want to store somewhere safe. For example, we keep our money in the bank, our jewelry in a jewelry box, and when traveling, we lock our passports in the hotel safe. Scrooge McDuck stores his wealth in a giant vault. How would you feel if someone told you to look again at where you have stored your treasures, only to find it empty? This is precisely what the Course says. Wherever we store our physical treasures, that place is, in fact, empty. Lesson 344 expresses this idea using the metaphor that our treasure chests are empty: > I did not understand what giving means, and thought to save what I desired for > myself alone. And as I looked upon the treasure that I thought I had, I found > an empty place where nothing ever was or is or will be. ([CE W-344.1:2-3](https://acimce.app/:W-344.1:2-3)) This message may seem very metaphorical, but we might think of real examples where we accumulated things that seemed like treasures only to realize they were nothing or left us feeling empty. One example that comes to mind is the sticker albums I collected as a child. How valuable and important they seemed! And how crucial it was for me to complete them! I even remember thinking I would keep them for years, believing their value would increase over time. Now, looking back, I see they were not treasures but mere trinkets. Can you think of other material things you have accumulated in the same way? For example, consider applying this idea to your bank account, real estate, or electronic gadgets. As we grow spiritually, we will look back and laugh at the things we once valued. Imagine growing, looking back, and laughing at what you now consider important to possess. The word that describes the state of having nothing valuable is poverty. This is a word Jesus redefines. In the Course, poverty is the lack of true treasure, which are the treasures of the spirit. The poor, according to the Course, are those who have invested in a world that yields no returns. Whether one has a lot of money or little, Jesus counts us all as poor: > I once asked you if you were willing to sell all you have and give to the poor > and follow me. This is what I meant: If you had no investment in anything in > this world, you could teach the poor where their treasure is. The poor are > merely those who have invested wrongly, and they are poor indeed! And because > they are in need, it is given to you to help them, since you are among them. > Consider how perfectly your lesson would be learned if you were unwilling to > _share_ their poverty. For poverty is lack, and there is but one lack, since > there is but one need. ([CE T-12.V.1](https://acimce.app/:T-12.V.1)) We have already seen that our only lack, our one need, is God. God is our sustenance. This paragraph invites us not to participate in the illusion that we need to invest in the world to sustain ourselves, and from there, to help the poor—those who have invested wrongly—out of their confusion. Selling all you have means letting go of your investment in this world. When discussing investments in the financial world, we always hear about investments, costs, and returns. Investing in this world brings no return, and our investment here has cost us everything, yielding nothing in return. We have a collective image of the financially wealthy as heartless, only caring about money, while those with little are seen as humble and good. Yet the poor, according to Jesus, include both the financially rich and poor. Chapter 12 says: > The ego is trying to teach you how to gain the whole world and lose your own > soul. The Holy Spirit teaches that you _cannot_ lose your soul and there _is_ > no gain in the world, for of itself it profits nothing. To invest in something > without profit is surely to impoverish yourself, and the overhead is high. Not > only is there no profit in the investment, but the cost to you is enormous. > For this investment costs you the _world’s_ reality by denying _yours_, and > gives you nothing in return. You cannot sell your soul, but you can sell your > awareness of its being. You cannot perceive the soul, but you will not know it > while you perceive anything else as more valuable. ([CE T-12.IX.1-2](https://acimce.app/:T-12.IX.1-2)) Jesus compares us to those who invest all their money in stocks of companies that eventually go bankrupt. Here, we have not invested in a company but have bought shares in this world. The cost has been so high that we are left with nothing, and instead of giving us returns, it continues to incur costs. The cost of investing in this world goes beyond our money and time. The image presented here is of an investor so desperate that they sell their own house to keep their business afloat. In this metaphor, our house is our soul. When we think of the word 'soulless,' does it not evoke the image of a ruthless person willing to do anything for financial gain? That is what we are doing, according to Jesus. To what extent have we become soulless in our pursuit of worldly goals? Thankfully, we cannot lose our soul, but we can act soullessly. And precisely doing so makes us feel as if we have lost our identity. Naturally, we think the solution is to start investing in our own soul, to look inward, and strive to reach spiritual depths. But that is not what we need to do. Instead of continuing to invest in this world, Jesus invites us to start investing in the real world. How is that done? You invest in the real world by seeing it with love, refusing to share in poverty, and helping the poor. It sounds like just a pretty, simple phrase, but it is a profoundly deep teaching. ## How to Invest in the Real World If the poor are simply those of us who have invested in the world, how do we help them? And why should we do it? Jesus presents a counterintuitive example of how to help a poor person. Though not intuitive at first, it is a perfect example once we consider it seriously. The example is when "a brother insists that you do something you do not want to do." His insistence is proof that he is investing in this world. The one insisting believes that what he asks for will be the salvation of his ego. The proof of this is that he asks through attack. Whoever insists is merely searching for crumbs in a desert. He is poor. However, many of us would react to such insistence with: "Do not take my crumbs!" That is, we would rather keep our time, energy, and control over the situation. Furthermore, this reaction makes us feel superior, since it is the other person who is attacking. We end up becoming the victims of the attack. Despite being convinced that we are different from the attacker, Jesus reminds us that we are acting in the same way. By responding like this, we have also invested in the world and, therefore, we too are poor. Jesus asks us to sell all our shares in this world. How should we respond in that situation? First, by recognizing that the brother insisting we do something we do not want is poor. He needs help. As it says in Chapter 12: "His poverty asks for gifts, not greater impoverishment." Seen this way, our love would reach him and fill his emptiness. On the other hand, we must let go of the idea that we need to defend our crumbs. Does it really matter if I give someone my crumbs if that is what they ask for? What can I lose by doing it? Giving my time, energy, and releasing control does not represent any loss. The real treasure is in the real world. Jesus tells us: > _Recognize what does not matter_, and if they ask you for something > “outrageous,” do it _because_ it does not matter. Refuse, and your opposition > establishes that it _does_ matter to you. ([CE T-12.V.4:1-2](https://acimce.app/:T-12.V.4:1-2)) Doing as He asks is the perfect solution. On one hand, we are giving love to our brother and lifting him out of poverty. On the other hand, we are showing an example of what it means to stop investing in the world. This, too, is a gift. The action lifts both of us out of poverty. How could this not be beneficial for both? The blessing you give a brother is the blessing you give yourself. By setting aside attack and responding with love, your coffers are filled with a treasure that is real. The treasure Jesus asks us to accumulate consists of the miracles we give and the lives to which we bring joy. It is certainly a very different meaning for the word treasure. This is quite typical of the Course: taking an everyday word and infusing it with a much broader meaning while retaining the essence of what the word evokes in us. ## Practice ### In the morning Let us dedicate 15 minutes in the morning today to begin investing in the real world. We will do this by recognizing where we are impoverishing ourselves and offering our best willingness to lift others out of poverty: 1. Close your eyes and quiet your mind as best you can. 2. Bring to mind a situation where someone is denying you something or asking too much of you. Something you feel you cannot give without ending up in a worse situation. For example, someone who refuses to pay you what they owe or is asking for something you cannot give. 3. Observe honestly how that struggle of wills makes you feel. 4. Say firmly and calmly to the other person: "If we both fight over crumbs, we remain poor. I will stop defending myself so that we both can win." 5. Notice how you feel when you say those words. 6. Imagine God entering the scene with a beautiful light, but neither of you shines because your defenses are up. 7. Choose to become a perfect mirror of God. Lay down your defenses and imagine yourself reflecting all of God's love and light. This light makes your brother shine along with you. 8. Spend the last few minutes of the meditation feeling how this light unites the three of you. ### Throughout the Day Throughout the day, watch your mind for any thoughts where you believe or feel that someone is withholding or taking something that should be yours. This can take many forms. It might be that someone literally has not paid you, is asking for money you do not have, or simply has not shown appreciation for a favor you did. Perhaps the thought is that the other person should come to you and apologize for a past offense. Whatever form this idea takes, respond immediately with the truth to avoid prolonging confusion: > "Let my only response to everything be love." If you find it difficult to apply this idea to a specific thought or situation, try to recognize that those who attack are poor and that poverty needs gifts, not further impoverishment. You can say: > "Those who attack are poor, and their poverty asks for gifts, not more > attack." Use your phone's timer to remind yourself every 20 minutes with this phrase: > "Let my only response to everything be love."