There once lived a King who was neither happy nor content despite a life filled with luxuries. The King came upon a common peasant singing happily while he worked one day. The happiness of an ordinary man fascinated the King. Why was the ruler of the land with all the luxuries unhappy and gloomy, while a lowly peasant had so much joy in his life?

The King asked the man, “Why are you so happy?”

The man replied, “Your Majesty, I am a common man, but my family and I don’t need much, just warm food to fill us and a roof over our heads .”

The King was not satisfied with the man’s answer; so, later in the day, he sought advice from one of his most trusted advisers. After listening to the King’s woes, the adviser said, “Your Majesty, I believe that the man you saw has not yet been made part of The 99 Club!

The 99 Club?  What is that?” inquired the King.

The adviser replied, “Your Majesty, to understand what The 99 Club is, you first need to place 99 gold coins in a bag and leave it on the man’s doorstep.”  The King did just that.

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After a tiring day working in the fields, the peasant man returned to his house and saw the bag on his doorstep. He took the bag into his home and opened it. He let out a great shout of joy when he discovered that the bag was filled with gold coins.

He began to count all the gold coins. After several counts, he was convinced that there were just 99 coins. He wondered, “What could’ve happened to that last gold coin? No one would leave just 99 coins!”

He looked everywhere he could, but he did not find the 100th coin. After a while, he was exhausted! He decided that he would work harder than ever to earn that gold coin and complete his collection with the 100th coin.

From that day on, the man’s life was changed. He overworked and became grumpy. He criticized his family for not helping him achieve his goal of earning the 100th gold coin. He stopped singing while working. All he could thing about was about getting the 100th coin to complete his collection.

The King witnessed the drastic transformation in the man and was puzzled. The King asked his advisor why the man wasn’t happy and satisfied anymore. The advisor replied, “Your Majesty, the man is now a member of The 99 Club.

He continued…The 99 Club is made up of those people who have enough to be happy, but are not content because they’re always striving for that extra one. They tell themselves that they will be happy if “I can get that one final thing in my life.”

We can be happy and content with a little in our lives. But, the minute the desire to get bigger and better overpowers us, we forget to appreciate what we already have and enter the world of discontent and unhappiness. We lose our sleep and our happiness. We distance ourselves from the people we love while striving for better. Lack of being content and satisfied is what joining The 99 Club is all about.

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But He said to them, “Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one is affluent does his life consist of his possessions.”  Luke 12:15 NASB

But godliness actually is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment. 1 Timothy 6:6 NASB

Blessed are the people to whom such blessings fall!  Blessed are the people whose God is the Lord!   Psalm 144:15 ESV

Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” Hebrews 13:5 NIV

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“It is not how much we have, but how much we enjoy, that makes happiness.” - Charles Spurgeon

Keep reaching out because you may help someone out of darkness and guide them into the light.

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If you liked this story and would like a copy of either of my books,
they are available on Amazon in both paperback and Kindle format:

If you have a story or testimony that you think might bless others,
I invite you to send it by email to me (Kenneth Kersey) at godsotherways@me.com.

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