It can be said that life is the most difficult exam. Many people fail because they try to copy others, without realizing that everyone has a different question paper.
We get these desires not out of nowhere, but from looking at others and then wanting to get what they have and even be who they are.
In the gospel, Jesus has a teaching for us that will help us in looking at life when He says: Watch, and be on your guard against avarice of any kind, for a man's wealth is not made secure by what he owns even when he has more than he needs.
Then He tells a parable about a rich man who had a bountiful harvest and made plans for securing his future with his wealth.
And he was called a "fool" because he thought that his wealth was the security for his soul, without realizing that his wealth may belong to him but his soul belongs to God.
We can say that the rich man failed in the exam of life because he was foolish enough to think that his wealth can save him.
But as the 1st reading will remind us, that is by the grace of Jesus Christ that we have been saved through faith. Not by anything of our own, but by a gift from God. Not by anything that we have done, so that nobody can claim the credit.
Let us not be so foolish as to fail in the exam of life. We must realize that there is no greater wealth in this world than peace of mind and that God loves us with so much love and He is so generous with His mercy that He has already given us a place in heaven.
We only need to be grateful and thankful to pass the exam of life.