WHAT IS WRONG WITH WEALTH?

"Jesus then said to his disciples, “I assure you: it will be very hard for rich people to enter the Kingdom of heaven. I repeat: it is much harder for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God than for a camel to go through the eye of a needle.” (Matthew 19:23-24) 

There are three cardinal motivations for almost all human endeavors - money, power and relationship. Among these, money is the greatest, for with it you have the other ones at your fingertips. No-one can live in this world without money, for money is the means to acquire nearly all material, physical and social goods that we need in order to survive. Money, therefore, as a medium of exchange and a store of value, is a basic necessity. So how can riches be an obstacle or limitation to heavenly glory? Let us find out, in this post, what is wrong with wealth. You will Know the truth and the truth will set you free " (John 8 :32). 

1. CONTEXT  

"And he said to the man, “You listened to your wife and ate the fruit which I told you not to eat. Because of what you have done, the ground will be under a curse. You will have to work hard all your life to make it produce enough food for you."  (Genesis 3:17)

So when God banished the fallen human beings from his heavenly presence, he commanded them to work hard in order to earn their living. The scripture further declares that a lazy person has no right to food (2 Thessalonians 3:10-11). That is why sloth (laziness) is classified among the seven deadly sins by the Church. The output of work is what we call wealth. Our wealth is what we use our knowledge, energy, talents, and skills to produce. We can name  them : crops, writings, movies, music, artwork, apps, constructions, equipment, goods, services and different types of products we can see, buy or sell across the world. 

And God, in his constant love and in his infinite goodness, is never indifferent to the plight of his people in their struggles to make a living from hard labor. That is why God blesses his people with wealth, and by virtue of that blessing, he is the original source of wealth, as it is written : 

"It is your father's God who helps you, The Almighty God who blesses you With blessings of rain from above And of deep waters from beneath the ground, Blessings of many cattle and children, Blessings of grain and flowers,  Blessings of ancient mountains, Delightful things from everlasting hills. May these blessings rest on the head of Joseph, On the brow of the one set apart from his brothers." (Genesis 49:25-26) 

Since no one can produce all the goods and services they need for themselves, the common and convenient practice is to exchange all or part of our production for money. The money is then saved or used in exchange for the things which we need but can not produce. This is how the people who produce more than what they consume - or who choose to consume less than what they produce -  accumulate surplus wealth - in goods or money - to be worth in billions of dollars. 

So I find nothing wrong with wealth, per se, because it is created by people, at the command and by the blessing of God, and by using the inputs of energy, talents, knowledge and skills, provided directly or indirectly by the same God. How can the blessing from God become a barrier to meet him? Let us go further to find out what is wrong with wealth. Follow me! 

ELON MUSK IS THE RICHEST IN THE WORLD 

2. PERCEPTION 

"You cannot be a slave of two masters; you will hate one and love the other; you will be loyal to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money." (Matthew 6:24)

What is your perception of wealth? Do you seek wealth as an end to itself or as a means to an end? Economists say that money is not a good by itself, but a means for the exchange of goods and services, or a store of value. So how do you perceive wealth? Is your wealth your slave or your master? Do you work for money or it is money that works for you? Is money your means of living or your aim of living? Your answers to these questions are very pertinent because the way you perceive wealth may be what is wrong with your wealth. 

If your wealth is your means of living, your servant and your slave; then you are able to be a slave and servant of God - no matter how rich you are. Your  wealth will not hinder, but ease your way to the kingdom of heaven. But if your wealth is your master, then, you will be  unable to serve God with your wealth - until you change your mentality about wealth.. 

But it is not so difficult to get the right perception of wealth. For If you admit that your wealth is the product of your knowledge, talents, energy and skills, you would also admit that your wealth comes from God who provides you - directly or indirectly - with these inputs to generate and to manage it. Then you have a reason to love God more than your wealth, to worship God instead of your wealth - and to use your wealth to serve God - as an act of thanksgiving, which is the sacrifice that brings you eternal salvation (Psalm 50:23). If your perception is alright, what else is wrong with wealth? Let's find out further - follow me. 

3. ORIGIN 

"Do not steal. Do not desire another man's house; do not desire his wife, his slaves, his cattle, his donkeys, or anything else that he owns.” (Exodus 20:15,17)

The source of your wealth may, also, be what is wrong with your wealth. What do you do to earn money? Is the origin of your wealth or what you do to get your money,  good and legal or evil and illegal? 

Following the scripture all wealth gotten - directly or indirectly - by the acts of stealing, cheating, scamming, ransom, fraud, embezzlement, bribery, corruption, and all forms of duplicity is illegal and  evil. Similarly, any wealth generated by inhuman, or illegal activity and demonic practices - such as human trafficking, prostitution, human sacrifice, and illegal trade - does not belong to you. You stole it, or hurt someone to ger it. Even wealth given to you by Satan is wealth stolen  from somewhere. That is why Jesus  said, about Satan:"The thief  comes only in order to steal, kill and destroy. I have come in order that you might have life - life in all it's fullness" (John 10:10). 

If your wealth is ill-gotten, it is a curse - no matter how much you enjoy it. It is an obstacle on your way to heaven.  But you have time to repent before it is too late - and the time is today, not tomorrow. Hear what happened:

"Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Listen, sir! I will give half my belongings to the poor, and if I have cheated anyone, I will pay back four times as much.” Jesus said to him, “Salvation has come to this house today, for this man, also, is a descendant of Abraham." (Luke 19:8-9). 

As you encounter Jesus in the reading of this post you, too, can repent and strike a deal of reconciliation with the Lord. "I will give back to the poor and to the communities all what I have stolen", or "I renounce Satan and all his wealth" - Then God will bless you and, henceforth, it shall be well with you in heaven, as it is on earth. Apart from the source, what is wrong with wealth?  Let us move on.

4. ATTITUDE 

"Happy are those who know they are spiritually poor; the Kingdom of heaven belongs to them!" (Matthew 5:3)

To be spiritually poor does not mean to be short of the Holy Spirit, but to be dependent on the Holy Spirit - whether you are rich or poor. All what you have are free gifts from God - the invisible Supreme Being. And you do not need  to be a believer to understand this truth. Let us take three cases to demonstrate:

(1) You were born into a wealthy family, inherited wealth and grew richer. What did you do when you were not born to merit being born into a wealthy family? What did your friends do, when they were not born to deserve being born in to poor families? And what did you do better than those your friends did, to become so richer than them? The truth is that you were, simply, born with a golden spoon in your mouth. 

(2) You worked so hard - day and night and under rain  and sun - to make and multiply your wealth. You have a rare and compelling business acumen that even the brightest Harvard graduates do not have. Business people are looking for every opportunity to take, but you are confused of which choice to make. This cumulation of vital factors: energy, skills, talents, acumen, persistence and good luck - which uphold you - are what you can not really account for. For you can see so many people around you without such talents and energy. And you can also see others who have, but are really struggling every day and night, without achieving something. Are you not so favored by the Unknown? 

(3) You were born with an extremely  high IQ, that you knew so many things, without ever being taught. Whereas your mates, after being taught, did not still understand them. Is this really of your making?  You have the ability to create,   innovate and invent new things. Who gave you these extraordinary abilities of creativity and innovation, which other human beings like you, do not have? Surely, your gifts come from someone who is above everyone  - that is God. 

So, if you get it right - that your wealth is, really, not of your merit but a gift from God - you will never stop giving thanks to him. Then you would consider your wealthiness, not as a merit or payment, but as a blessing or favor from God. Your attitude towards wealth would be that of detachment and not atachment. Then you will regard the poor in wealth - with empathy, not contempt - and you will not oppress, but protect them. You will also, not regard other rich people with jealousy and sadness, but with admiration and happiness. Finally, you will not obstruct, but help others to become as rich as you are - or even richer. This takes us to the next stop in our verification of what is wrong with wealth - the destination. Follow me.

5. DESTINATION 

"There will always be some people who are poor and in need, and so I command you to be generous to them." (Deuteronomy 15:11). 

The question is: :do you use your wealth selfishly or selflessly? The LORD who blesses you with so much wealth also commands you to be generous to those who have so little or nothing. The philosophy of God is that all what you have in excess of what you need or use belongs to others - for whom you hold in trust. To be rich is to be sure that God trusted you in this way - so do not abuse that trust by being indifferent to the needs of those who do not have. The rich man did this to Lazarus and paid the price, by going to hell (Luke 16:19 -31). 

Do you use your wealth to do good or to do evil? The worst is when people use their wealth as a means to manipulate or to oppress others. They manipulate people to serve their personal interests, to the detriment of others. And they oppress others so that they never get to where they are. But the rich are called to be agents of salvation to the miserable ones. How? 

There are four destinations for giving: (1) giving to the needy who, for any reason, lack the basic necessities of life, (2) giving to lift others up, by sponsoring researchers, inventors or entrepreneurs  (4) giving to develop poor or backward communities, by providing basic social facilities, as stimuli for development. (4) giving to support the Church and private evangelical efforts that bring the Good News of Salvation to the world. 

Especially, help people in the way that they may eventually gain freedom from poverty. There are many who have great potentials and projects but lack people to hear them and help them grow. There are many organizations but the access is not as easy as it appears. So many people just need someone to listen to them and buy their ideas for their lives to change, and for their ideas to also bring change to the communities. Some rich people are open to helpl but the gap or protocol around them does not allow the poor man to reach them with their projects and ideas. That is why the rich, while ensuring their personal security, should, kindly, equally make themselves reachable to the poor. What is next? 

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6. MOTIVATION 

"So when you give something to a needy person, do not make a big show of it, as the hypocrites do in the houses of worship and on the streets. They do it so that people will praise them. I assure you, they have already been paid in full. But when you help a needy person, do it in such a way that even your closest friend will not know about it. Then it will be a private matter. And your Father, who sees what you do in private, will reward you." (Matthew 6:2-4)

If you have been giving or you wish to start giving - that is marvelous. Then God will continue to bless you and protect your wealth - if your motive is right. What is your motivation for giving what you give? Are you giving out of pride so as to boast, out of selfishness in order to corrupt your benefactors, out of wickedness in order to lure and kill somebody, out of love in order to save someone's life, or as a sacrifice to give thanks to God? It is obvious that the last two motivations, are the only ones that accord to the will of God. So blessed are you who give to the poor only to thank and glorify God. Follow me to the end. 

7. SECURITY 

"Do not store up riches for yourselves here on earth, where moths and rust destroy, and robbers break pm in and steal. Instead, store up riches for yourselves in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and robbers cannot break in and steal." (Matthew 6:19-20)

You may say that "wealth is security", but remember that wealth itself is not secure. It suffices only an earthquake, a windstorm or economic crunch (as it happened between 2008 and 2010) for all that you hold to be valuable, to lose value or disappear. Yes, with local scale disasters your insurance policy may restore your loses, but with global scale disasters, your insurance policy will have no value - because the insurer, too, would be a victim. So it is good to save your money, buy securities or acquire property - but trust not in your wealth; rather, trust in the giver - God. For God can always give, increase and protect, because he has absolute control over all the natural and supernatural forces.  

Therefore, the sources of your wealth, your attitude to your wealth, and the uses of your wealth are the three key factors that would determine the extent and the value of your riches in heaven. Hence, if you have gone wrong or find yourself wanting in any of these points, you still have time to repent and to redress your situation. So the scripture says, "Human beings can not live on bread alone, but need every Word that God speaks" (Matthew 4:4; James 1:25) For with the Word, you have the real wealth - peace and joy on earth - that no one can take away from you. Meanwhile, eternal life would, also, be your reward in the kingdom of  heaven. 

Let me conclude this post with a special tribute and congratulations to the CEO and Co-founder of Tesla - Elon Musk - who is the richest person in the world; and to you all, who  have worked hard to become wealthy. I thank God for you, and pray that: May the LORD who gave you the skills of money-making also give you the wisdom of using money to give him glory, so that your wealth will always increase, and will never be your barrier to the kingdom of God but, rather, your facility to the eternal life in heaven. I ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, Amen. 

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Author: Aying Godman, is a Catechist, Evangelist & Blogger of the Roman Church; Founder of CATHOLIC FRONT (The Catholic Frontline Community™) Email: ayinggodman@gmail.com 

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