Christian poverty and the things of this world

By Fr. Roy Cimagala *

          WHILE it’s true that Christ told the rich young man, and us,

to “sell everything and give to the poor…and come, follow me,” (Mk

10,21), we need to understand that the Christian spirit of poverty and

detachment does not prevent us from having the things of this world,

like money.

          But, yes, we need to be careful that our having the things

of this world does not undermine our love for God. If ever, the things

of this world should be pursued and used for the sole purpose of

loving God and everybody else. We are not angels. We are not pure

spirits. We need things to live and survive, and to give glory to God

and to help everybody else.

          Many times, we are given the impression that money and the

Christian spirit of poverty are incompatible. To a certain extent,

there is some truth to that view.

          Even St. Paul went to the extent of saying that, “the love

of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they

have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many

sorrows.” (1 Tim 6,10) We do not have to look far to verify the

undeniable truth of these words.

          But we need to remind ourselves also that money in itself is

not an inherent evil. It is when we fall into an improper attachment

to it that it becomes an evil or, better said, a tool for evil. But in

itself, if handled properly, it can in fact be a tool for doing a lot

of good and of glorifying God.

          We just have to make sure that our attitude toward money is

inspired by our love for God and for others, and the way we deal with

it faithfully reflects the will of God which definitely is for our own

salvation and the salvation of everyone.

          Only then can we apply the use of money in accordance to

Christ’s words: “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be

also.” (Mt 6,21) Only then can we say that money will show how much we

love God, rather than how depraved we have fallen.

          But, yes, we always need to check ourselves to see if we are

truly detached from the things of this world so as to give our whole

selves to God and to others. In this, we cannot afford to be casual.

The worldly things are now so attractive, so tempting and so riveting

that if we are not careful, there’s no way but be swept away by its

rampaging worldly laws and impulses.

          In fact, at one time, Christ compares the great difficulty

involved in resisting the allure of worldly things in a very graphic

way: “It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle

than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.” (Mk 10,25)

          Christian poverty has the primary purpose of emptying our

mind and heart of anything that can compete or, worse, replace the

love for God and for others which is proper to all of us.

          It’s not about running away from worldly things, much less,

of hating the goods of the earth and our temporal affairs, but of

knowing how to handle them, so as not to compromise the fundamental

law of love that should rule us. And that is for us to be God’s image

and likeness and as God’s children, as shown to us by Christ.

* Chaplain Center for Industrial Technology and Enterprise (CITE),Talamban, Cebu City

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com