“In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would
have told you. I go to prepare a place for you” (Jn 14:2).
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Biltmore Estates, Asheville, NC (Wikipedia)
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I am sure Mr. Vanderbilt justified the scale of his home as
appropriate to the size and majesty of the Great Smoky Mountains under the
influence of his architects, Richard Morris Hunt and his landscape architect,
Frederick Law Olmsted who had designed the landscapes of New York’s Central
Park and the U.S Capitol building. If I heard my tour guide correctly,
Vanderbilt originally only wanted to build a modest home of round 6,000 square
feet! Both Richard and Fred must have possessed persuasive abilities; George
Vanderbilt wound up building a home nearly thirty times larger (178,926 sq. ft)!
Vanderbilt’s big house created much needed jobs in a depressed local
economy, and it continues to do so with its surrounding farms. Today, the big
house generates $50 million tourism dollars annually.2
What I learned from my tour guide about this country gentlemen
from the city was that George had a sense of doing right by others, but whether
he was spiritually regenerated is unclear. He was taken up with intellectual
pursuits such as art, philosophies, knowledge, and languages and collected over
23,000 books in his library while the two older brothers ran the family
business in New York.
I wondered, while standing in his library, if he had ever thought
about the great claims of Christ upon his life, or was he one of those as ever
learning but never coming to the truth of the Gospel? Did the Vanderbilt’s ever
hear the words from the Bible save for Easter, Christmas, funerals, and
weddings? Were any of his family and friends believers in Jesus Christ?
“For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and
loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul” (Mt
16:26)?
The proverb of the impossible comes to mind,
“For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle
(Gk, belones, a sewing needle) than
for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God” (Lk 18:25).
This hyperbole should not be taken as absolute but something extremely difficult, nigh to impossible (cf. Lk 18:26-27). Having riches can be a very dangerous and
distractive thing for a believer. I am of the opinion that many believers are not wealthy
from a material standpoint not because of a lack of faith, but because God
knows that few can handle it properly; in other words, it is not God's will for all believers to be rich in the things of this world. All one has to do is to look at the life of Solomon who had astounding wisdom and vast riches. Money and possessions can change people
for the worst, if they are not careful.
I knew of a man years ago who was a principal of a Christian
school. He came into a substantial revenue stream on one of his financial
ventures. “Money will not change me,” he smugly told me. Not long after that he
resigned his position as principal. He attended another church, purchased a new
automobile, and relocated to an upscale neighborhood. I never saw him again. We were never close, but I have
never forgotten his arrogant attitude on how money would not change him.
Money
is not evil; we need it to live on. But if we allow money, or the love of it, to
turn us away from God’s will for our life, then we cannot handle money; money
is handling us. We cannot serve both. One of the first warning signs is our reliance in God shifts away from His Person, promises, and principles to possessions.
Back to the Bilt, I loved the glassed-roof rotunda and the 70-foot
ceiling banquet hall with its huge tapestries and the library, but as I walked around the Vanderbilt’s home, I told Beverly that even if I had this kind of wealth, I wouldn’t want to live in something like this. If God has tilted our hearts in another direction, does that make us a loser? To the world, probably so, but not to God (cf. 1 Jn 2:16-17)!
Faithfulness is more profitable in so many ways that we have no
idea until we are with Him in glory. Bucking His will for a buck makes you a
loser in the end. You will be the better served if you stick with doing what
God wants for you to do for Him, and if you know what God wants for you to do,
do it with all your heart.” In His will is where the work and reward of
eternity reside.
George Vanderbilt was 33 when Biltmore was opened to receive
family and friends on December 24, 1895. On March 6, 1914, he died at the age
of 51 of medical complications. Looking around, I purposely asked one of the Biltmore
employees to be heard by the people behind me, “Was there any evidence that Mr.
Vanderbilt ever took anything with him when he died?” The man shook his head, looking
at me like I was crazy. Then I said, “I didn’t think so.”
That brought back memories of the “duh” questioned asked us by
the lady standing in front of the Biltmore. I wanted the people behind me to
hear because they were going on and on how they wished they could afford to
live in a place like this. Be careful what you ask for, right? None of us have
any guarantee of tomorrow for our appointed time may come today (Heb 9:27; cf.
Prov 27:1; Lk 12:16-21; Jas 4:13-16). Jesus said,
“Take heed and beware of
covetousness, for life does not consist in the abundance of the things he
possesses” (Lk 12:15). This is not a popular verse to a materialist.
The “wow” factor stayed with me pretty much the whole time while
we were there. What I took away from there spiritually that day was a reminder
that anything outside God’s will is futile. In the words of Solomon, “Vanity of
vanities.” He should know.
Biltmore was “man-bilt.” Our abode in glory is a place prepared
by God, “God-bilt,” if you please,
“I go to prepare a place for you” (Jn 14:2c).
It’s not the place that makes heaven. It’s the Person of Jesus
Christ that makes heaven, Heaven, “Where I am you may be also” (Jn 14:3c). What
good is having a Bilt-like house on earth or in heaven, anyway, if Jesus isn’t
there? Heaven and earth will pass away and all within it, but that which is
bilt to last are those things done in the will of God. <><
2.
http://nchistory.web.unc.edu/the-biltmore-millions
