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September 26, 2004
Twenty-Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time
True Riches
I Timothy 6:6-19
The famous theologian, Martin Luther, once said of humans: "There are three conversions necessary: the conversion of the heart, mind, and the purse." For Americans today, the third conversion might be the most difficult. The desire to be rich pervades our society. We are constantly bombarded with messages from the mass media about how wealth can bring true satisfaction and happiness. We are taught to be unhappy with our current situations, to desire more and more riches for ourselves.
Lotteries, gambling casinos, and sweepstakes contests hold out hope for quick riches, as do TV shows like "Joe Millionaire," "The Benefactor," and "Who Wants to be a Millionaire." The media grants celebrity status to moguls like Donald Trump, Ted Turner, and George Steinbrenner. We dream of becoming instant millionaires by buying stocks in start-up companies that we hope will become the next Microsoft, Google, or IBM. (Even my dad, who has never been driven much by money, wistfully wonders how his life would have been different if years ago he had seized upon the opportunity presented by a tiny fishing lure from Finland that had yet been marketed in the United States—Rapala.)
Advertisements feed on this desire to accumulate more and more. Their whole aim is to create in us fresh desires. They make us feel unfulfilled unless we have the latest products…and the cash to pay for them. Thus we work longer and longer hours to buy the things we think we need to give our lives meaning, while snuffing out the time for family, friends, and community involvement that might add true meaning to our lives. And just when we think we've accumulated enough, we can turn on the TV and watch programs like "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous," which make what we have seem pretty paltry and insignificant. When compared to such celebrity riches, most of us are "losers" at the game of material
wealth. Even the promoters of the Iowa Lottery have the audacity to ask the question, "Why don't you live a little?", as if some vacuum has been created in our lives if we don't purchase the latest scratch ticket.
Yes, for many the "American Dream" has come to mean the endless pursuit of wealth. I'm reminded of one of Ross Perot's explanations for why he was running for president back in 1992. He said something to the effect of, "I've lived the American dream. I've made my millions. Now I want others to share in that dream." Perot's vision of the American Dream is a far cry from the one spelled out by John Winthrop back in 1630, while sailing with the first settlers of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, when he said he hoped for a society in which private interests would take a backseat to the common good.
In today's lectionary reading from I Timothy, the author offers warnings about an unholy desire for wealth. "Those who want to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil" (vss. 9-10). The evil is not in riches, per se, but the inordinate desire for them. Those who desire wealth often bring misery upon themselves and others.
I want to examine several instances where this is the case: First, the desire for riches may cause people to pursue unethical and ruinous behavior. On a personal level, it may tempt one to lie, cheat, cut corners, follow unjust practices, and even trample on colleagues in order to get a bigger piece of the pie. If you are a business executive, it may lead you to pay unfair wages to employees in order to pad your own earnings. A question we must all ask ourselves is, What moral principles are we willing to sacrifice in the drive to acquire more wealth? And is the payoff worth it if it comes at the cost of personal honesty, integrity, and fairness? Or does it lead in the end to pain, regret and remorse?
In many cases, the quest for riches feeds addictive behavior—gambling, pursuing get-rich-quick schemes or risky stock adventures—which can sink one into debt and despair. Many lives, including many families, have been destroyed by the incessant quest to hit the jackpot. Or the pursuit of wealth may lead to an addiction to work. In her widely acclaimed book, "The Overworked American," the Harvard economist, Juliet Schor, argues that over the past twenty years, the working hours of Americans have increased by the equivalent of one month per year. This reflects the work habits not just of low-paid workers who are struggling to make ends meet, but of high-paid professionals who spend more and more time at the office. Even though we've doubled our productivity in the last 50 years, we do not have more leisure in our lives. We repeatedly choose money over time.
And at what cost?
- sacrificing time spent with family, evenings at the dinner table, helping a child with homework, or tossing a ball back to your toddler?
- missing a child's ballgame, a daughter's dance recital, the school concert, the parent-teacher conference?
- not finding time to relax with your spouse, go for a walk, enjoy a meal with friends, or volunteer in the community?
The quest for wealth not only impacts our personal behavior but also shapes public policy in detrimental ways. In this heightened political season, this letter to Timothy begs several questions.
- Do we support policies that give the wealthiest Americans even more wealth at the expense of the underclass, or do we support policies that give even the poorest Americans a better opportunity to earn a decent living and live a better life?
- On a national level, in order to prop up our current prosperity, do we allow our politicians to postpone tough fiscal decisions today to address growing deficits, looming insolvency in Social Security, and rising Medicare costs, only to pass on to future generations an unjust and growing financial burden?
- Do we turn a blind eye to regressive tax codes as long as they serve our self-interest? According to a study done by the Iowa Policy Project, the wealthiest Iowans pay less of a percentage of their total incomes in state taxes than the poorest Iowans. Do we remain undisturbed that someone has to remain poor in order that we may amass more?
Perhaps most disturbing to the writer of this letter, the love of money can destroy religious faith. As he noted in verse 10, "in their eagerness to be rich some have wondered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains." The idolatrous love for wealth keeps us away from the One who gives and receives all things. It is no wonder that Jesus spoke about money more frequently than any other subject except the Kingdom of God. You cannot serve both God and wealth, God and Mammon. Wealth possesses the power to become an idol. It has a way of turning us away from God, of thinking that we are self-sufficient, independent creatures who have no need to rely on our Creator.
I am intrigued by the Muslim concept of the "infidel." The Arabic word for infidel, which typically is translated as "unbeliever," actually has a meaning that is shaded more toward "one who lacks gratitude," "one has lacks a thankful heart." If you act as if you are the center of the world, you are an infidel. If you act with a selfish disregard for your neighbor, you are an infidel. If you act as if everything you've acquired has solely been the result of your own talents, without acknowledging the Creator who gave you those talents, then you are an infidel. The inordinate love of money is destructive of religious faith, and leads to idolatry.
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We've seen the dark side of money, but there is a light side as well. I don't think that money itself is the problem. Money in itself is neither good nor bad. The moral problem centers on those who do not know how to use money, or who let the desire for money turn into an idolatrous, selfish love. For as we see later on in this passage, wealth may be used as a trust from God for works of mercy. With money, one can do much good.
Verses 17-19 read: "As for those who in the present age are rich, command them not to be haughty, or to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but rather on God who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, generous, ready to share, thus storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of the life that really is life."
This passage assumes that there were already within the early church some wealthy people. They are not told to sell all their possessions, to give up their riches. Rather they are counseled to put their wealth in proper perspective and to use it rightly.
Two things strike me about these verses. First, the wealthy are advised not to be arrogant, to think themselves better than others due to their wealth. How often do we judge the quality of peoples' lives on the basis of their material possessions? We who are wealthy (and most of us are wealthy by global standards) should not presume that we are more worthy than those who have less.
Second, the rich are counseled to use their wealth rightly so as to draw them closer to God through their charitable giving. This is where true richness lies. Be liberal and generous, truly rich in works of love, using your resources as a means of doing good. Take hold of the life that really is life. As one commentator remarks, "If a person's wealth ministers to nothing but his own pride and enriches no one but himself, then his wealth becomes his ruination, because it has impoverished his soul. But if a person uses his wealth to bring help and comfort to others, in becoming poorer, he becomes richer."
Money. It is not an evil, but it is a great responsibility. When used within the context of the life and power of God, it is a blessing. When we firmly understand that the earth is the Lord's, then our personal wealth itself makes us more aware of God and his goodness to us. Being aware of God's ultimate ownership can be liberating. It can release us from a possessive and anxious spirit, and cause us to share more freely from our material abundance. It can help us to cultivate thankful hearts, to live in gratitude to God. In such a life is true abundance.
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Phone: 319-364-6148
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