Men and nations are great by the wealth of their virtue, not by the virtue of their wealth, By Sunday Adelaja

Unfortunately, we don't often see the benefits of the power of values ​​and virtues. We are easily fooled by physical wealth, material possessions and the power of money. Life and history, however, have repeatedly taught us that values ​​and virtues are far more important than the physical wealth we often see. Material wealth actually emanates from values ​​and virtues.

The question of what makes nations great, why some nations are rich and others poor, is a question that is bound to trouble the heart of any avid student of history.

Even though we live in an unjust world, in which some men and nations acquire their wealth in ways that are not always as simple as we would like, yet in the midst of it all it is not impossible to discover the principles and secrets of the greatness of nations.

Even though this article is titled “Men and Nations are Great by the Wealth of Their Virtue, Not by the Virtue of Their Wealth,” I will nevertheless focus my attention on the nations. I will write about a basic and fundamental reason that makes nations rise, and in the absence of which nations fail.

If the question were to be asked to experts in political science and anthropology, why nations are great, their answers would be an endless list of factors, such as population, geographical location, human development, education, labor, natural resources, etc.

However, in this article, I will not discuss what I call the obvious factors in the development and growth of nations. I will examine the subject under the aspect of what some men would willingly admit. Experts and historians might not mention this factor that we are talking about today, simply because they are not aware of it.

As an African, I don't have to look far to find that material wealth alone is not enough to build a great nation. There are many countries in the world, especially in developing countries in Africa, Asia and South America, which are extremely rich in natural resources and yet have very poor populations.

It is natural, when we are looking for explanations and reasons for a cause and effect relationship, to quickly come up with overwhelming physical evidence. What is much more difficult to discover however, are the hidden, subtle, unobtrusive factors that are not obvious to the naked eye.

This factor of greatness of nations that we are going to examine today is evident in the title of this article: "Men and nations are great by the wealth of their virtue, not by the virtue of their wealth."< /p>

From the above theme, we see the disparity between the factor of material wealth and the wealth of virtue, as being responsible for the greatness of nations. It is also evident in the affirmative tone of the title that I am on the side of the wealth of virtue against the virtue of wealth.

Unfortunately, we don't often see the benefits of the power of values ​​and virtues. We are easily fooled by physical wealth, material possessions and the power of money. Life and history, however, have repeatedly taught us that values ​​and virtues are far more important than the physical wealth we often see. Material wealth actually emanates from values ​​and virtues.

As an African, I don't have to look far to find that material wealth alone is not enough to build a great nation. There are many countries in the world, especially in developing countries in Africa, Asia and South America, which are extremely rich in natural resources and yet have very poor populations.

When positive value systems are embraced by a nation, when the citizens of a country are truly rich in virtues, then material wealth is only a matter of time. Moreover, material wealth doesn't just come and go, it comes...