Steve Jobs Died

Oct 5 (Reuters) - Apple Inc (AAPL.O) co-founder and former CEO Steve Jobs, counted among the greatest American CEOs of his generation, died on Wednesday at the age of 56, after a years-long and highly public battle with cancer and other health issues.

Jobs' death was announced by Apple in a statement late on Wednesday. The Apple.com homepage featured a black-and-white picture of him with the words "Steve Jobs, 1955-2011."

 But, who really was Steve Jobs besides being the former CEO of Apple Inc.?


Steve Jobs, as Forbes.com describes at a glance:

With $7 Billion Net Worth as of September 2011

Forbes Lists
#39 Forbes 400 (The Forbes 400 Richest People in America)
#110 Forbes Billionaires (The World's Billionaires)
    #34 in United States
#17 Powerful People (The World's Most Powerful People)

 And Steve Jobs' profile as described by Forbes last September 2011?

August should have been a triumphant month for Apple co-founder Steve Jobs; his once written-off tech company briefly topped Exxon Mobil as the most valuable U.S. corporation. But later that month he resigned as CEO to battle what most believe is his final bout with cancer. The Reed College dropout founded Apple in his garage. Jobs created the Macintosh in 1976 and was fired 9 years later after a power struggle with Chief Exec John Sculley. He returned to Apple in 1996. Still most of his wealth still comes from Disney, due to Disney's purchase of Pixar in 2006; as the largest individual shareholder, he owns about $4.47 billion of Disney stock.

Based on his profile, indeed Steve Jobs was a very wealthy person! With $7 B net worth, I think he won't have to work anymore just to enjoy life!

It is true, money is a very important commodity. In fact, almost every "thing" that we need has to be bought with money! The food that we need to eat, the clothes that we need to wear, the maintenance for the house that we live in, the bills that we accumulate as we use the electricity and as we consume water daily, the tuition fees for our children... You name it! You can add more things on the list.

In order to cope up with those above things, we really need to work hard and work smart! But, sometimes, it's really sad to hear news about people doing "everything" just to acquire money, even if it means to kill someone, or to steal from someone else.

Is really money "all" that we need? As 1 Timothy 6:10 says:

For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

Hmm.. one thing that I've noticed: it did not say "money is the root of all evil", but rather the "love of money"... and the last part says: "and pierced themselves through with many sorrows." Incidentally, more and more cases of wealthy people committing suicide and doing nasty things are getting into the headlines!

Money, compared to a kitchen knife, if used properly could grant enormous benefits. The beef steak and chicken curry that you enjoy, all reap the benefits of a knife. Imagine eating a whole chunk of beef, or a whole chicken in just one meal!

But just like the kitchen knife, money if used improperly, could bring disastrous things to you and to your loved ones.

How about you? Have you been so obsessed with acquiring more and more money that you trample upon your own integrity?

1 Timothy 6:6-8 advises us:

But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.

Steve Jobs' death reminds me that life really is short. When we die, everything that we acquire here on earth cannot be brought with us, and that is a reality of life. 

Let's evaluate ourselves, my friends...

© 2011 Erickson Ibana