Wealth Matters
There comes a time when we discover what is truly important in life.
Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Truly I tell you, it will be hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.’ When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astounded and said, ‘Then who can be saved?’ But Jesus looked at them and said, ‘For mortals it is impossible, but for God all things are possible.’ - Matthew 19:23-26
The first time I heard this conversation between Jesus and Peter, I was depressed.
It wasn't that I was rich and concerned about getting into heaven. I just believed it to be a good thing to want to be rich. After all, our capitalist society is based on the ability and freedom to grow wealth. It is what drives us to produce, as a means of making the world better.
Jesus tells us that it is impossible for us, as mortals, to save ourselves. Only God can save us, and for God, all things are possible. So, that's good news, isn't it?
We can have our cake and eat it too!
But I do believe we have to do something. The less we do with what we have, the harder it could be for us to make a case before God in our own behalf.
True, we can't earn salvation. God's mercy is unearned and given unconditionally, through love. But we can become burdened by wealth. We can be weighed down, cluttered, forced to deal live with the fear of loss.
When we are worried about holding onto what we have obtained, we tend to turn a blind eye to suffering in others when we might be able to do something to ease it.
I have come to look at wealth as an enabler, a tool for helping others. The more I have, the more I can do with it.
But to live like that, I need to release myself from the burden of worry. I can't be afraid to share what I have with those who have less or none. I need to require less for myself, so I can offer more for others.
You might say, I won't get rich that way, but maybe there are more ways to be enriched than we think.
Nowadays, we hear of the battle between capitalism and socialism and it is easy to become polarized, thinking it is an either-or choice. Either we enrich ourselves, or we share with others. But those thoughts are not mutually exclusive.
The choice is ours. We can share more now, or we can leave it to others to decide how to spend what we earn.
Jesus said it wasn't easy. The more we have, the harder it is to let go.
But what joy comes from hoarding? What joy comes from letting others decide for us?
As we begin our preparations for Thanksgiving, let us all think of setting a place at our table for those who have no one. And if we can see God in that person, what would we hold back from giving?
More to come...