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In the early 1900s, horse-drawn carriages, cobblestone streets, and the smell of manure wafted through the financial district of New York City. Tall, stone buildings cast long shadows over the energetic streets below, as a sea of dark suits and street vendors sought to make their fortunes. Among the throngs of men was one woman history would remember as the Witch of Wall Street. 

Hetty Green’s nickname was owed partly to her dour appearance and no-frills lifestyle. There was no distance too far, or inconvenience too great to keep Hetty from saving a few cents. She owned one plain, black dress that she wore for years until it nearly fell apart, and then she replaced it with an identical one. Driven by her obsession with saving, Hetty walked miles each day to buy day-old bread scraps, and instead of using the stove, she warmed her food over the radiator. She believed that using hot water for cooking or bathing cost too much, and her personal hygiene suffered as a result.     

Even her children bore the consequences of her thrift. When her son, Ned, injured his leg in a sledding accident, she refused to pay for medical care, opting instead to self-treat. Tragically, Ned’s leg became infected with gangrene and was later amputated—a hefty price to pay for a few dollars saved. 

Rich but Living Poor

This extreme penny-pinching might have been understandable if Hetty were unable to pay for food or medical care, but she was anything but poor. Born into a wealthy family, she received a five-million-dollar inheritance and multiplied it many times over through shrewd investments in bonds, railroads, and real estate. Her wealth was so vast that she even served as a private banker to the City of New York. When she died in 1916, the Witch of Wall Street was the wealthiest woman in America, with a fortune worth more than two billion dollars today. 

Hetty Green was a woman with incalculable wealth, yet she chose to live in virtual poverty. Refusing to use her resources to meet her family’s most basic needs, she instead brought them unnecessary suffering and shame. While she was a brilliant investor, with a keen eye for buying low and selling high, her legacy is not of benevolence, but miserly greed.

Hidden with Christ in God

Before we cast off Hetty Green’s extreme financial missteps as tragic and perhaps morally wrong, how often do we, as Christians, ignore our heavenly treasure and live like spiritual paupers? We may not be materially wealthy, but our union with Christ makes us unfathomably rich in spiritual blessings. This union makes it possible to draw near to God (Heb. 4:16), come boldly before the throne of grace (Heb. 10:19-22), and abide in his love (John 15:4-5). Yet, spiritually speaking, we often don’t turn on the hot water—neglecting the warmth of communion with Jesus, for something cold and mechanical instead.  

That’s why understanding our riches in Christ isn’t enough; it must shape the way we live. Colossians 3:1-3 tells us that our true lives and spiritual wealth are securely hidden not in this realm, but in a heavenly one, where Christ is seated with God.

If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

Our union with Christ means a transaction took place at the cross, and at the moment of our salvation, where our lives mimicked Christ’s. Jesus died physically, and we died spiritually. He rose from the dead, and we rose with him to new life (Gal. 2:20, Rom. 6:4-5, Col. 2:12, Eph. 2:5-6). Now that he lives, we live too, and everything that belongs to him belongs to us. Our union with him means we are in Christ, and Christ is in us. 

The word ‘hidden’ in Colossians 3:3 conveys the idea of being kept secret and concealed. It literally means that Jesus’ life covers ours, and nothing in all of creation can separate us from him (Rom 8:38-39). No robber can break in and steal us away, and no power of hell can rip us from his hands. Your life is hidden with Christ in God, and that is who you really are, making us unfathomably rich indeed!

The Hidden Places of Your Heart

Hidden isn’t only our Christian identity; it’s the place where our love for him grows. It’s in secret, in the hidden places of our living rooms and bedrooms, where no outside eyes can see, that we are drawn to him, further concealing and tucking us into his heart. Seeking and setting our minds on the things above happens when we daily open our Bibles and pray. 

It’s in our secret (quiet) times with the Lord that we experience abounding love, unexplained peace, and indestructible joy. This nearness is one of the privileges of our union, but like Hetty Green, we often don’t cash it in. Our quiet times can feel dutiful rather than delightful—like something we do rather than something we enjoy. This disconnect of who we are and how we live is why I wrote the book, The Pursuit of Holy Leisure: Enjoying God in Everyday Places.

This book was born out of my own sense that I was living like Hetty Green—not in accord with my riches in Christ. Over the years, I’ve heard many people share similar struggles: feeling like their quiet time is just a box they check off before moving on with their day, leaving God’s Word unchanged. 

So often, we feel that way because we’ve approached God’s Word with our own agendas rather than as a pursuit of holy leisure. When we change our mindset about this sacred practice that happens in the hidden places of our lives, we instantly begin to enjoy it more. Opening God’s Word and praying is an overflow of our union with him, which then ripples out into every area of our lives. 

This book is divided into four parts. Our pursuit of holy leisure begins in the hidden places of our identity with Christ and extends to the familiar places of family, work, and hobbies. It influences how we endure the hard places of suffering and trials, and finally, how holy leisure leads us to the fruitful places, where our lives yield a harvest of knowing and enjoying God.  

Hidden in Holy Leisure

When we pursue holy leisure rather than perform our spiritual duties, we begin to live in light of our riches. Our spiritual lives are first formed in the hidden places of devotion and enriched as we approach God’s Word as our chosen form of leisure and rest. It’s in these secret, hidden times that we begin to understand who we are in Christ and how to seek him first.

I invite you to join me, cash in your chips, and crank up the heat on your hidden life with Christ. It’s in him we find the rest, the holy leisure, our souls want most—making us rich beyond compare!

Cara

P.S. Are you curious about holy leisure? I’m excited to offer you a FREE Chapter of The Pursuit of Holy Leisure: Enjoying God in Everyday Places. 

P.P.S. In this Introductory chapter, you’ll learn about the various approaches we take to our quiet times. This quiz will help you identify your starting point.