The 99 Club

There was a very rich king who had everything, money, power, comfort, hundreds of subjects, but still not happy. One day he came across one of his servants who was whistling happily as he scrubbed the floor with a broom. And he was intrigued. How could he, a supreme ruler of the realm, walk so crestfallen while a humble servant seemed to enjoy so much pleasure?

– Why are you so happy? asked the king.

– Majesty, I’m just a servant. I don’t need much. I have a roof to shelter my family and hot food to warm our bellies, replied the servant.

Dissatisfied with such a simplistic answer, the king sent for one of his advisers, whom he most trusted.

– Your Honor, I believe the servant is not part of the Club of 99. The counselor spoke to him.

– 99 club, what is it? asked the king.

– Your Majesty, to understand what it is, order a bag of 99 gold coins to be left at the door of the servant’s house.

– Why only 99 coins? asked the king.

– You will know soon, Your Majesty.

That is how it was done. When the poor servant found the bag of coins on his doorstep, he was overjoyed. He couldn’t believe such luck. Not in his dreams had he seen so much money. He spread the coins on the table and started counting them:… 96, 97, 98… 99.

He thought it was odd to have 99. It was probably 100. He counted again and, in fact, it was 99. He thought maybe they had dropped one and started looking, but no matter how hard he looked, he found nothing. There were really 99. Suddenly, for some reason, that missing coin took on sudden importance. With just one more gold coin, just one more, he would complete 100. A nice round 3-digit number! He needs one more coin to feel satisfied and so he became obsessed with it that he decided he would do whatever it took to get another coin, work day and night if he had to. He would be truly happy when he could see in front of him exactly 100 gold coins.

And from that day on, the servant’s life changed. He spent all his time thinking about how to earn a gold coin. He was always tired and mumbling in the corners. He had little patience with the family who didn’t understand what it took to get the hundredth gold coin. He stopped whistling as he swept the floor.

1 Timothy 6:6-8: "To be sure, there is great gain in godly devotion along with contentment. For we have brought nothing into the world, and neither can we carry anything out. So, having food and clothing, we will be content with these things."

The king, noticing this sudden change in behavior, called his adviser again.

– Your Honor, the servant is now officially part of the Club of 99, and continued, the 99 Club is made up of people who have enough to be happy, but still are not satisfied. They are constantly chasing after that missing coin. They keep repeating that if they only have that last little thing they lack, then they can be truly happy. In reality, it takes very little to be happy, but the moment we put our attention on what we lack instead of on what we have, dissatisfaction immediately arises in life. We came to believe that with a little more, there would indeed be a big change in our hearts. And we’re looking for a little more, just a little more. We lose our sleep, our joy, our peace, and we hurt the people around us.

– A little more always turns a little more, perpetuating our dissatisfaction. This “a little more” is the high price of our desire and satisfaction.

And concluded: this, Your Majesty, is the 99 Club.

We must be content with what we have.

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