財富有何不妥？ What’s Wrong With Wealth?

Twenty Eighth Ordinary Sunday, Year B
Theme: What’s Wrong With Wealth?

The Beatitudes, the Magna Carta of the Kingdom of Heaven, teach against wealth, “Blessed are the poor (in spirit)” (Matthew 5:3, Luke 6:20) People naturally ask Christians what is wrong with wealth? Isn’t development good for humanity? In poverty, how are people able to grow and develop? Therefore, if wealth were evil, it would only be a necessary evil! These are genuine questions we need to answer.

Jesus Christ advocates poverty throughout his public ministry. His living style is simple (9:58). He embraces and helps the needy and the marginalized (17:17). He does not seek luxury, power and fame for Himself. He welcomes all, not rejecting the hospitality of the rich (19:5). In short, He practises what he preaches. As followers of Christ, we should follow the Lord’s example to opt for the poor and at the same time, we should not reject the rich.

First of all, like many other human creations, wealth is neutral. It is neither good nor evil. People may continue to question whether nuclear power generation is evil or stem cells researches immoral. At the end of the day, it all depends on how people put them into use and what control measures are deployed to ensure that the products would not fall into the wrong hands and the power would not be abused. The Lord teaches, “Much will be required of the person entrusted with much, and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more.” (12:48). If you’re unfamiliar with the Bible, at least you should have heard of “with great power comes great responsibility” popularized by the Spiderman comics.

Moreover, we should not confine our understanding of development to economic aspects only. Some economies in the present world achieve their prosperity at the expenses of the freedom of their people. Let’s imagine a country in which the GNP is extremely high but the wealth is not evenly shared. National income is pocketed by a small number of aristocrats. What would you say about the rulers of such a country? Furthermore, if the rulers promise to raise the income level of the commoners but refuse to concede any political reforms, would the living standard of the people improve? When foreigners challenge them for abusing human rights, the rulers counter with bland slogans, saying “The human right of my subjects is to fill up the belly”. People wonder how the commoners of this country different from cattles? Without freedom, would the commoners have the opportunity to develop intellectually, mentally and spiritually?

So, what’s wrong with wealth? There’s nothing wrong with wealth so long as it is handled in a responsible manner. In other words, when wealth is gathered and dispensed according to moral principles, it is good. Otherwise, it is evil. Obviously, when wealth is gained through criminal activities, it is legally bad. It is easy to understand that getting rich by selling drugs, bribing law enforcement officers and shooting down all competitors is bad to the society as a whole. But it is also evil spiritually because it breaches the Ten Commandments.

Now that we come to the Ten Commandments, let’s talk about our relationship with God. Isn’t it a blessing from God for me to enjoy what I have earned with my hard work? The Psalter says, “What your hands provide you will enjoy; you will be blessed and prosper.” (Psalms 128:2) So, am I not entitled to spend my wealth, which I earn morally, in whatever manner that pleases my heart? This is the human right to private property. I’m sorry! You’re quoting the Bible out of context. You have omitted the first verse which reads, “Blessed are all who fear the Lord, and who walk in his ways.” (128:1) As long as the manner you spend your wealth shows that you fear the Lord and you follow His ways, you are exercising your human right. It is morally and spiritually good. Don’t forget that we belong to the human family and enjoy the resources of this planet which is shared by all. In short, we have responsibilities not only to ourselves but also to our neighbour. In other words, we have the responsibility at least to relieve the plights of our neighbour. That’s the moral of the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31) and the parable of Sheep and Goats (Matthew 25:40). Thus on top of the principle of dignity of personhood from which we derive human rights, the Catholic social teachings since 1891 have included the principles of common good and the principle of solidarity to guide the social actions of the Church members in the modern world. Preferential option for the poor is even enshrined in the documents of the Vatican II. (Gaudium et Spes #90)

This rich man in the gospel passage today has observed all Commandments from his youth (Mark 10:19-20). He is already morally good by all standards and is even just according to the Old Covenant. Jesus loves him (10:21) and therefore God approves of this rich man too. But would it be too demanding and harsh for God to demand this rich man to give all his wealth to the poor in order to inherit eternal life? (10:17-21) In other words, is poverty essential to eternal life?

Well, wealth, like power, is an attractor similar to a black hole in the universe. People accumulate wealth, in the form of material possession and even knowledge for the unknown future. Do you remember Francis Bacon’s famous aphorism “Scientia potentia est”? In other words, going beyond the basic needs of survival, people accumulate wealth & knowlege to meet the need of security. People feel safer when they have control of more resources at hand. But what does the good Lord teach us? “Give us today our daily bread.” (Matthew 6:11) “Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself. Sufficient or a day is its own evil.” (6:34) How much do we trust in the Lord? Worse still, people do not stop when they have accumulated more than they need. A sense of achievement creeps in. People feel satisfied with their financial and intellectual achievements and gradually they would be proud of their achievements. Then they begin to garner political powers in order to protect their wealth and to guarantee its continual inflation. They would make laws to secure their political powers and wealth. Imperceptibly, their hearts would become so hardened that they don’t feel any need of God. Sooner of later, they start playing God with their power and might! Yes, it is a slippery slope. Had it not been, Jesus would not have warned us not to serve God and mammon at the same time (Matthew 6:24) and the good Lord would not have lamented in the gospel passage today that it would be easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God (Mark 10:25). This teaching of forsaking wealth is in line with what Jesus teaches earlier to become maimed or blinded in order to avoid sin (9:42-48).

What is so good about poverty?
First of all, the damages we would cause others are proportional to the wealth and power we are able to command. Therefore, in poverty, we do less harm to other people than in wealth! Poverty also teaches us to be humble because you have nothing to be proud of. Poverty teaches us to rely on God. When we have nothing, we’ll naturally turn to the loving Father who is always there to meet our needs. If we have something, we want to get rid of God. Funny isn’t it? Wealth is more than a stumbling block. It is actually a dangerously attractive thing we should avoid at all costs.

Brethren! It is regrettable that the modern world measures the value of a person by the wealth he possesses or he is able to generate. It is a distortion of human dignity. Wealth is dangerous because cuts us off from our neighbour and empowers us to do harm to the human family. Moreover, it drags us away from our loving Father in heaven. May the fear of the Lord inspire us to avoid wealth and power at all costs. May we follow the ways of the Lord to scatter our wealth among the poor and may we enjoy the intimacy with God in purity without any burden of mammon. Amen.
God bless!
2018 Reflection
Picture Credit: Wikipedia