“You cannot give yourself to God and money.”
Is Money bad? No! Money is not intrinsically evil. Money is a means to and end. It is just a means. Many times money is considered bad because of the temptations to gather it and keep it through unjust means and because money is often squandered or badly used. Money can be a means to virtue or a means to vice. It is a means to vice when we keep it unjustly, we squander and waste it or we use it badly. Money can lead to idolatry, we see money as an end rather than a means. Money should never be the end, the most important thing, the bottom line.
Jesus in this Gospel says, “No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other or be attentive to the one and despise the other. You cannot give yourself to God and money” We have only one Lord. We must serve him with all our heart, with the natural gifts He himself has given us, using every licit[i] mean throughout our entire life. We must direct everything toward him: our work, our plans, our leisure, without holding anything back. We cannot allow money to become our god, or let the objective of our life become the accumulation of the greatest number of goods and the highest level of comfort. God calls us to the most transcendent destiny.
The Story of Saint Francis
St. Francis came from a wealthy family. When he was a young man he was the life of the party and would spend lots of money throwing parties for his friends, on entertainment and on clothes. He was very popular and decided to fight for his city by going to battle. While at battle, he became sick and was hospitalized. It was during this time that he heard the voice of God say, “Francis, if you had the choice, would you rather serve the servant or the master?” Francis replied that he would rather serve the master, then God answered by saying, “Then why are you following the world”
Give examples of how the objective of life can become the accumulation of the greatest number of goods or the highest level of comfort. To what extremes will people go to accumulate things? What are some examples of our desire for the highest level of comfort. Does this desire reflect our true needs or our wants? One example a priest gave is modern architecture. Sometimes a building is built for looks only and no one considers how much it will cost to air condition the building. When you add the two comforts, air conditioned building and good looks or cool architecture, it is likely that the building is both expensive and wasteful, but we want the highest level of comfort so cost and waste does not matter.
What does transcendent destiny mean? We are created for heaven for something greater than the goods or comfort of this world. Many feel that money is the solution to their problems. Tom Monaghan is a perfect witness that money does not satisfy, but that money can be used to help build the transcendent and lead people to heaven.
VIDEO – Dominoes founder, Tom Monaghan
Tom Monaghan, founder of Domino’s Pizza and owner of the Detroit Tigers made a bold decision to sale Dominoes (1 billion) and invest his money ($200 million) in Catholic Education. Tom saw that money was not the end but a mean. Tom said that before his life was just the accumulation of goods or the pursuit of goals, and that his decision to use his money for the glory of God “freed him from enslavement”.
LINK - Story of Dominoes founder, Tom Monaghan
http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/catholic_stories/cs0039.html
A theory that makes profit the exclusive norm and ultimate end of economic activity is morally unacceptable. The disordered desire for money cannot but produce perverse effects…A system that “subordinates the basic rights of individuals and of groups to the collective organization of production” is contrary to human dignity. (GS 65.2) Every practice that reduces persons to nothing more than a means of profit enslaves man, leads to idolizing money, and contributes to the spread of atheism. “You cannot serve God and mammon.” (Luke 16:13)[ii]
In regards to business what does the Church teach us? Profit cannot be the only goal or ultimate end of a business. In fact, if you look at the greatest entrepreneurs of all time, they did not care about money to be insanely rich. They look to money as a tool to use to build their ideas and vision. They have great passion and drive for something. We should not have a disordered desire for money. People must be more important than production, they cannot be treated as objects or a means to and end. We should have a desire and drive for God first. God will give us the ability to pursue our dreams if we allow Him to dwell within us first.
What will happen if we do not heed the Church’s advice? Man will be enslaved, we will idolize money, and atheism will spread. Where do you see these three things in modern society? The spread of atheism (the belief in no God) is an effect of idolizing money. Money becomes our god. There is no need for God because the money god supposedly is the solution for every need, every problem. There is not transcendent destiny (heaven) but only here and now (earth). “We need to work with renewed enthusiasm and energy to remake what has been what has been destroyed by the culture of hedonism and materialism.”[iii]
[i] Lawful or legal
[ii] See CCC 2423-2424
[iii] In Conversation with God