“The love
of money is the root of all evil,” says Scripture. "You cannot serve both God and mammon,” says
the Lord Jesus. He also says in today’s
Gospel, "Beware of greed in all its forms."
But isn’t the world’s economy built on greed? Doesn’t it seem clear that self-interest is
the driver of the world's economy? And isn’t it the
desire for wealth that motivates what courses of study we recommend to high
school graduates as they go off to college? Who of us encourages a graduate to follow his
or her passion for learning for the sheer love of learning? Don’t we all encourage our young people to get
the kind of education that will produce a great paying job?
So, what is the wisdom of the Lord
when He tells us again and again such things as: “One’s life does not consist of possessions;” and, “Put
to death the greed that is idolatry.”
Is
being wealthy a bad thing? No! But being greedy is a very bad thing! Think of all the energy that is expended in
our lives as we maneuver and concentrate on our physical well-being compared
with the lesser amount of energy and ingenuity we use when it comes to our
spiritual well being.
St. John Chrysostom, one
of the greatest Fathers of the early Church, taught this: “All the evils you may
find, whether in the house or in the market-place, or in the courts of law, or
in the senate, or in the king’s palace, or in any other place whatsoever, it is
from [the love of money] that you will find they all spring.”
The
social teachings of the Catholic Church have much to say about this state of
affairs. So, let me briefly mention some dangers for the wealthy and for those
who want to be wealthy.
- It
is not wrong to be wealthy, whether we gain that wealth by hard work or by
inheritance. But wealth does not
make us a better person than the person who is poor. To think so is a deception and leads to hubris.
- It
is dangerous to see our wealth as our own doing instead of seeing it as a
gift from God. If we see it as our
own, instead of seeing it as an undeserved gift from God, then we will
think we can use it as we please, without any social conscience telling us
to do what we can to share with the have-nots. How robust, then, is our charitable giving? This is why Bill and Melinda Gates and
Warren Buffet and Bono are such striking prophets for our time.
- Another
danger is our not paying attention to the ethics involved in how we are
making our money. For instance: Do
we have stock in pharmaceuticals? Do
we know, or even care, that almost every pharmaceutical company is
complicit in the abortion business? Do we care that our investments are
funding other immoral endeavors, like companies that pollute our atmosphere, rivers and oceans? Are we principled about how we invest our
money; or are we greedy by wanting the best yield from our investments and
don’t want any complicating moral issues to interfere?
- What
is very dangerous is such an emphasis on our physical riches and the love
of capital gain that our desire for spiritual riches cannot hold a candle
to our consumerism. Has the accumulation
of possessions become a more consuming concern than the works of justice
and mercy?
- Greed
corrupts us rather than redeems us, divides us rather than unites us,
enslaves us rather than frees us, scatters us rather than reconciles us,
and takes a terrible toll on our relationships, especially by refusing to
help those who cry out for help.
How are we healed of our greed? By being grateful! Everything is a gift, all that we have, all
that we are, all that we own, and all those to whom we belong: everything is
gift. From the very beginning God
created man and woman in a