Life is made race rather than a test. This is race for money, for riches, for success and for pleasures. This race has no rules, no regulations. Anyone can ditch anyone and push anyone from behind to reach the number one position. How many winners, who used to look incredible and unbeatable, have turned into dust and are no more in this world! How many have left their creations and discoveries as mere lessons for us and how many among us will become the lessons for the coming generations! Pharaoh who used to call himself god is now a mere piece of crap enclosed in a glass box and put in a museum for the people to get lesson from his life.
Life is not a race it is just a test for all of us. Every soul who comes here is not sent to join the race but that soul is sent here to take this test and strive hard to get the maximum marks. In the very beginning of islam, muslims were GOD conscious they were practicing but as soon as the third generation passed (i.e. itebah tabaeen), next generations started to deviate from the right path. Today, there are muslims who recite kalimah and prostrate on graves. Today there are muslims who recite kalimah and associate imams with ALLAH by saying that those imams had the knowledge of ghayb. Today there are muslims who reject the idea of jihad openly which is called as the best deed by ALLAH swt Himself. Today there are muslims who, in order to look modern and rich reject hijab and beard.
This race of becoming rich and successful has made muslims to forget their purpose of life. This race for riches has snatched the peace of mind from people. This is why it is said that in order to be happy, look at those who are poor. People want more and more, they are not stratified with what they have. If they have 10 clothes they want to have 20, and when they get 20 they again want to have 40 because they are in race. They do not see that when they have 10 clothes there are people who have 5 and there are some who have only one.
When the looking at the poor trend becomes common in the society, this race for riches will remain no more. If people look at those who have less than them, they will become grateful of ALLAH and will never like to run after their desires. In this way world can become a better place to live. But this looks rather impossible to convince all of us to look downward not in the upward position.