Wealth and Eternal Life

The rich man and the eye of the needle – this Gospel passage from Mark 10:17-30 hits close to home for me. I’ve kept the commandments, but do I really have to go sell everything I own and give the proceeds to the poor if I am to have eternal life?

Compared to pretty much all the rest of the world, those of us in the US, Europe and other developed countries are rich. In much of the world a few thousand dollars will get someone a house to live in; in my part of the country it will make a payment, maybe two, on a 30-year mortgage. There is some poverty in our developed countries, and people do struggle financially from time to time, but I think in the terms Jesus is talking about, we’re wealthy.

Society defines us by our wealth and material possessions, even more so in an election year as political consultants slice and dice the demographics. What part of town do we live in? What do we drive, what do we wear? Where do we shop, what do we buy, and where do the kids go to school? How much did our house cost? And we make the comparisons all the time; it’s part of how we define ourselves and others.

But then Jesus says all that gets in the way; to have eternal life I have to sell it all. It’s tempting to say that he didn’t mean this literally, that he was using it as a way to tell me something about my relationship with material possessions and wealth. Maybe so; but then which things do I take literally vs. figuratively? Jesus said some tough things, and it’s easy to keep the tough ones at arm’s-length while embracing the easier, more politically/socially acceptable ones literally.

A supportive family, good education, hard work and some lucky breaks have all come together to bring me a rewarding and lucrative career. There have been ups and downs, but the ups have far outpaced the downs. At times, I’ve basked in the status and the wealth this career brought, and it never fails that when I do that I get led astray, away from God. That’s the danger that wealth and possessions bring – before we realize it, they are guiding our lives and dictating our actions in ways that don’t always line up with the Gospel. Yet, we live in a material world.

This material world – and my actions within it – can glorify God. That’s why God created all this in the first place. It’s essential to have the right orientation towards it all; as St Ignatius said:

Take, Lord, and receive all my liberty, my memory,
    my understanding, and my entire will.
All I have and call my own.
Whatever I have or hold, you have given me.
I return it all to you and surrender it wholly
    to be governed by your will.
Give me only your love and your grace
    and I am rich enough and ask for nothing more.

Comments

[Victor Savard]

Steve, with a sermon like that you’re probably going to start a panic and/or an epidemic of so called saints to come out of the woodwork. I’m almost tempted to give up my wife and all possessions then go join the bishop because I feel like such an hypocrite at this moment but then on second thought, my wife would probably insist on joining me and then end up getting all the glory in the long run.

I should apologize for making your post sound like some kind of joke and I do apologize and although I don’t know how this little write up will finish,I can’t see how you could not accept an apology from me in this case.

The only answer that I believed which has come from my faith is that if we believe that as God’s Children we’ve truly been called to relinquish all of our possessions then we should try to follow our heart while using our honest mind as to how it will affect the love ones around us and then let God be our guide. Faith tells me that Jesus said in so many words that if it’s just too hard for us to do God’s Will then we should ask His Father with a sincere heart for His Forgiveness because True Faith tells me that nothing is impossible for His Father.

I can’t quote scriptures at this time or even tell you where to find chapter and verses but I did hear that Jesus told some guy that if he had to go and burry his father first before joining HIM, then he was not ready for The Kingdom of God. Faith tells me that Jesus never said that this guy would never ever make it to His Father’s Kingdom except that he just wasn’t ready yet.

The important thing is that we don’t make light of what Jesus ever says like I did when I started this little write up because before we know it we’ll start to believe our silliness and there will be a lot of spiritual factors which might make it almost impossible to later change our views. Faith also tells me that we should always pray that we are not truly put to the test because it’s not always easy to later get the JOB done.

If the only good thing I’ve done here was to be the first one on your dance floor, then maybe a few more might jump in and cast a little more light on this subject. (lol)

Keep UP The Good Work Steve

[Mark W.]

Do not forget the second half of the reading. It was a teachable moment for his disciples to learn that wealth was not a reward from God for living a righteous life.

The verse that jumps out at me is: "Jesus looked steadily at him and loved him, and he said, 'There is one thing you lack. ...'"

In other words, what is the one thing holding you back from entering the kingdom? What is the one thing each one of us must let go?

Maybe it is wealth? Maybe it's not? It depends on what we are attached to, the thing we put between God and us.

Maybe that guilty twinge many feel at hearing this passage is the devil whispering in their ear, distracting them from the one real thing that they need to let go.

[Steve Bogner]

Victor - THanks for that perspective; following our hearts and trusting God's will - that good advice.

Mark, that's a good point - thanks. The one thing that holds us back...

[searching for holiness]

But I think also that this reading is calling us to look at what our posessions are... are they material things money cloathes, houses etc. or are they attachments to situations, life and health. Have we made Gods out of our work, our reputations, our health... for me I have in the past couple of days had to come to terms with how vain I am. Chemo pattern baldness will do that to ya... I initally thought I would be ok with my hair falling out until it started to happen. Then suddenly I am not quite so "ok" with it. I never was one to over style my hair or wear a lot of makup but I do enjoy HAVING hair. . . not so cool with the bald spots. I am looking a bit like gollum from lord of the rings right now.