Most people in the USA are rich by historical and international standards. Whether or not we are rich, we are "falling into temptation and a trap" if we even want to be rich (1 Tm 6:9). We are letting ourselves "be captured by foolish and harmful desires which drag men down to ruin and destruction" (1 Tm 6:9). It's not wrong to be rich but wrong to want to be rich.
"It is easier for a camel to pass through a needle's eye than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God" (Mk 10:25). Therefore, we should be reluctant to be rich and do so only if the Lord insists on it. If we are rich, we must be good and faithful servants of the Lord (Mt 25:21), Who is the Owner of all the possessions and money which He has entrusted to us. We must tithe, give alms, and give sacrificially. Some think this will prevent them from staying rich. However, the Lord always outgives us. So those rich who are good servants of the Lord often get richer (see Mt 25:28). Occasionally, the Lord will let a rich person divest themselves of their responsibilities of stewardship. He gives them more freedom and puts them in a position less dangerous to their salvation.
Therefore, give "good measure pressed down, shaken together, running over" (Lk 6:38). This may get you out of being rich. However, if giving makes you richer, take up your cross of being rich, responsible, and endangered, and be a faithful steward.
| PRAYER: | Father, send the Holy Spirit to teach me (Jn 14:26) how to be poor (Mt 5:3). |
| PROMISE: | "You may for a time have to suffer the distress of many trials; but this is so that your faith, which is more precious than the passing splendor of fire-tried gold, may by its genuineness lead to praise, glory, and honor when Jesus Christ appears." –1 Pt 1:6-7 |
| PRAISE: | St. Katharine used her great wealth to lead American Indians and African-Americans to new life and hope in Christ. |
Reprinted with permission from Presentation Ministries, a lay association of the Catholic Church that focuses on evangelization and discipleship through Bible teaching, daily Mass, the charisms of the Holy Spirit, and Small Christian Community. Their ministries include:
· One Bread, One Body
· Daily Bread Radio Program
· Annual Bible Institute
· Discipleship Retreats
· Guadalupe Bible College