The Root of All Evil

Money seems to be one of those things that dominates our attention and our lives.  Most of the people reading this blog are the bread winners of the family, and there is a lot of pressure, stress and fear in owning that responsibility.

We live in one of the most prosperous times in the history of the world, with more convenience and abundance than ever.  So where is our collective sigh of relief?  Why does money still dominate so much of our thoughts and actions?

I believe it’s because we have believed in something that wasn’t true.  If you want to be happy, you need to work yourself to the bone and achieve material success.  Productivity and hard work has it’s rewards.  We might have heard  “Money can’t buy happiness”, but we never really believed it.  We push our kids to be successful in school so they can get a good job and be on their own.  When they achieve or fail at this life challenge, we as parents either beam with pride, or feel the shame of the “unproductive” basement dweller who still is on the payroll.

Then we spend a majority of our lives, fighting and climbing, upgrading and expanding in an effort to bask in the glory of the American Dream.

Don’t get me wrong, I love this country, but their is a part of a capitalistic society that can cloud our judgement and direction in life.   If you don’t get this right, your American Dream can become a prison.

I remember Fr Tim Bannes telling me that the meaning in all of our lives, is to know and receive God’s love and to share it with others.  That’s it.  If we do that well, our lives will be filled with joy and purpose.  Every other endeavor is a side quest. 

So I look at these two pictures and I wonder, which one of them is more able to know and receive God’s love and share it with others?

 

The answer is, I don’t know.   There are people with material wealth who don’t have God’s peace, and there are people on the margins of society who have an abundance of love to share with those around them.  However, I’ve also met some rich people who have amazing faith lives and have spread that joy with everyone they’ve come into contact with.   And of course there are people with very little financially that are selfish jerks.

So I think the lesson here is that it doesn’t matter.  Money isn’t the root of all evil.  It has nothing to do with good or evil.  Having more than you need makes your life easier, but not more peaceful.  If we know and acknowledge that, then we won't try to solve the world's problems, as well as our own, with money.

When I went to Haiti, the first thing I felt was sorry for them.  I wanted to buy everyone an air conditioner and an XBOX.  I was going there with the disoriented thinking that they can’t be happy, because they have so little.  By the end of that trip, part of me was envious of the people I had met, who were able to enjoy a simple life.

One year at youth group, we took a few dozen boys to a charity walk/run event with kids who have severe handicaps.  Later that night, around the fire, I asked the boys what their experience was like.  Most of them talked about how sad it was, and how thankful they are for all of the blessings they take for granted.  Then one kid spoke up, “You know, this might sound crazy, but I don’t think it’s sad at all.”  Everyone started booing and jeering this heartless comment, but I said, “Hold on, let’s hear him out.”  He continued, “Well I spent time with Charlie and at first all I could see was how his body didn’t work.  I play varsity soccer and I assume that in order to have a valuable life, your body has to be able to do certain things.  However, if I’m honest, I’m not that happy.  I’m lonely and sad a lot, and searching for meaning.  Charlie is always smiling.  Everyone lights up when they are around him.  He has a love and joy radiating from him that I don’t think I’ve ever known.  At the end of the race when I was with his family, I prayed to God to be more like Charlie.”

There it is.  For the first time in this kids life, he was seeing someone, not through the eyes of the world, but through the eyes of Christ.  You can have more money than anyone else, or you could be barely getting by.  You could have the body of an olympic athlete, or be confined to a wheelchair.  It doesn’t matter.  Anyone in any situation has the invitation be filled with God’s love and enjoy the sense of purpose that comes from sharing it.

Paul tells us in Philippians 4 “I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13 I can do all this through him who gives me strength.”

So if you have more than you need, share, whether you have an abundance of time, money or faith.  Share with them, not out of your pity, but out of your love.