A billionaire, according to Merriam Webster, is one whose wealth is estimated at a billion or more dollars, pounds, or other monetary units. Now, let’s think of a millionaire, that person could be someone who is famous for being a millionaire because he owned a big company or he just won a lottery. Whatever the story that led him to become a millionaire, let us focus on one question: what values should a millionaire have, in order for him to get the fullness of his life?
A millionaire, in the view of many people, is the luckiest person because with his wealth, he can do many things with the money he has. Therefore, not a few people want to become millionaires. However, to become a millionaire, it turns out that a person must have value within himself. With these values, he continues to hone himself to become a better person from day to day.
Values are things that humans aim for, according to the theory stated by Max Scheler. He grouped values related to life into four kinds of groupings. The values if sorted from the lowest to the highest are pleasure values, vital values, spiritual values, and values of the holy. According to Max Scheler, an action is morally valuable not because it is an obligation, but is an obligation because it is morally valuable. In a colloquial sense, value is often confused with something of value. Max Scheler distinguished between value and value. Value is the quality that makes something valuable, while the thing of value is something that carries the quality of value. Thus, value can be understood as different and independent of the thing of value.
At the most basic level, a person judges something of value only from the pleasure factor that he can feel. One level above, someone judges something as valuable when he reviews the life value of something. Examples are health, vitality, capability and excellence. If we move to a higher value, someone will judge the value of something based on spiritual values. Examples are honesty, trust, truth, love, truth, goodness and kindness. At a higher level, a person will pursue the values of the holy, namely the values contained in one’s spiritual life. Examples are belief, adoration, and bliss. In the values of the holy one will be faced with the question “belief or unbelief?” and “God or others?”
There are people who pursue the value of pleasure, so it is not for the sake of feeling satisfaction, but because pleasure is seen as a value. Value is not relative, but absolute. Values are not ideas or ideals, but rather something concrete, which can only be experienced with a vibrating soul and with emotion. Schelar states that there are people who sacrifice higher values for lower values. An example is someone who sacrifices honesty for the sake of pleasure.
In everyday life, we too are faced with a dilemma. In everyday life, we often encounter cases of “I want to go abroad so I can fulfil my dream to go to another country and earn more for my family, but in process, I will leave the poor community I am currently serving” or “I want to watch my favourite soap opera but tomorrow will be my examinations in Physics and Algebra.” Since millionaires are also human, they too must face a dilemma as well. Often millionaires who own large companies, have to be faced with the question, should I sacrifice my pleasure for a value (call it the welfare of society)?
If these millionaires have awareness, then they will realize that life is not just for fun. They must consciously manage the wealth they have for the good, not only for their own good, but for the greater good, namely the common good/bonum communae. They may one day have a lot of wealth and become millionaires. However, at the same time, they must be able to wisely use their wealth for a higher value.
A millionaire, with a lot of money, can just feel the pleasure of having a lot of money. However, the value of the pleasure must be increased to a higher level. At a certain time, he may be able to grow the value of life through the alms he does to the surrounding community. It can also grow even higher values. Examples are the values of honesty, trust, truth, love, truth, goodness and kindness.
Therefore, as a millionaire whose wealth is estimated at a billion or more dollars, pounds, or other monetary units, we certainly feel pleasure and happiness for what we have. However, there are more values that we must strive for. Those values are honesty, trust, truth, love, truth, goodness and kindness. There is also the highest value that must be pursued by not only the millionaire, but also by everyone, namely the values of the holy which are related to divinity.
By Marco Silaen
Widya Mandala Catholic University, Indonesia
