Message
posted April 18, 2008 – “You can’t take it with you when you’re gone”
Opening
prayer:
(Thanks to
the “2 Hearts Network, Inc.” website for this excellent prayer)
O Jesus, Who
chose a life of poverty and obscurity, grant me the grace to keep my heart
detached from the transitory things of this world. Let it be that henceforth, You are my only treasure, for You are infinitely more
precious than all others possessions. My heart is too solicitous for the vain
and fleeting things of earth. Make me always mindful of Your
warning words: "What does it profit a man if he gain the whole world, but
suffer the loss of his own soul?" Grant me the grace to keep Your holy example always before my eyes, that I may despise
the nothingness of this world and make You the object of all my desires and
affections. Amen.
Selected
Bible readings:
Ecclesiastes
5:10
Whoever loves
money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his
income. This too is meaningless.
Matthew 19
21 Jesus answered, "If you want to be
perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have
treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."
22 When the young man heard this, he went away
sad, because he had great wealth.
23 Then Jesus said to his disciples, "I
tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.
24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle
than for a rich man to enter the
25 When the disciples heard this, they were
greatly astonished and asked, "Who then can be saved?"
26 Jesus looked at them and said, "With
man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."
27 Peter answered him, "We have left everything
to follow you! What then will there be for us?"
28 Jesus said to them, "I tell you the
truth, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious
throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the
twelve tribes of
Mark 8:36 (Jesus speaking to the people and to
his disciples)
For what
shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?
The
Message:
Having money
is not evil. The Bible instructs us that it is our duty to earn enough money to
provide for our family’s needs. But when we desire more money than we need and
put this desire above all else, we are guilty of greed. It is ok to save money
for a nice home, a new car and a college education for your children. Some
people seem to have all they need, but they are never happy – they always want
more and more things, especially things that they don’t need.
The other
side of greed is the desire to keep your wealth all to yourself. Jesus
instructs us that if someone wants something that we possess, we should give it
to them. There are many ways you can be charitable. When you have finished
reading a book or a magazine, do you keep it, or do you pass it on to someone
else so that they also might enjoy it? Do you pass on videos that you have
viewed? When someone doesn’t have enough money to pay for lunch of pay a bill,
do you give them the extra money they need? Do you loan money to people or do
you give it to them outright as a gift? I certainly hope you don’t make loans
and expect your friends to pay you interest in return!
Look around
your house and find everything you haven’t used in a long time and are unlikely
to use again. Have a yard sale, but keep the prices reasonable. If someone
makes you an offer, take it – make them happy if they can make use of your
unused items. Then use the money to buy an item that will strengthen your
faith, such as a bible study guide or a CD of praise music. Or you could donate
the proceeds of your yard sale to your church.
If someone is
a guest in your house, and they comment on how much they like one of your
possessions, consider giving them that item as a gift. You will get more
happiness from the good feeling you give your friend that the happiness you got
from having the item. Chances are good that you might only use or look at this
item once a year or less!
After your
bills are paid and you have saved some money for the future, if you still have
money left over, increase your donations to your church or give some money to a
worthwhile charity.
I know first hand what it means to cling to possessions. My wife
and I, although we had a lot of bills to pay and never enough money to pay them
all, still had a lot of possessions. I had things in storage I had saved since
we were married 32 years ago. I had a lot of books, magazines, CDs, record
albums, musical equipment such as guitars and amplifiers, collections of
things, and many other items. At the time, I didn’t fully understand the
Biblical concepts or else I would have done things differently. I received an
email from a good friend from long ago who had just bought a new guitar and
was looking for a good guitar amplifier. I had eleven guitar amps, but I only
used four or five. I thought about offering him one of my “extra” amps, but I
never followed through with it. If I knew then what I know
now, he would have received an amplifier only days after sending that email.
As a serious
Bible scholar, I knew that Jesus said “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your
possessions and give to the poor.” I was aware of this simple concept, but I
was bound by too many years of acquiring “stuff.” I guess the Lord didn’t think
that I was moving fast enough, because on October 21, 2007, an out-of-control
fire storm came through my town destroying everything in its path. My house,
garage, car and all my possessions were completely destroyed. I was at our
church at the time (ironic, isn’t it?) so I wasn’t home to save anything. When
I tried to return home, it was too late.
After much
sadness and grieving, I questioned the Lord how He could let this happen to us.
The answer I got was not what I expected, but it changed my life. Often, my
wife Peggy and I would visit friends who had a nice house, and then later we
would mention to each other how nice it would be if we had a nice new house
like that. Financially, we were in no position to do such thing. The Lord
removed the old house and had our insurance company give us enough money to
design our dream house. Our car was not insured, but there was enough money
from the insurance settlement to get a new car. I owned 18 guitars, but none of
them were exactly what I wanted, so now I have three guitars, but they are
exactly what I need. Peggy wanted new furniture, and now we have ordered custom
built, hand made furniture throughout the house. Our
spa was old and didn’t work most of the time. Now we have a nice new spa. I
could continue on and tell you more, but I think you understand what I’m trying
to say. So was the fire a bad thing? Yes, it was traumatic, frightening, and it
destroyed any memories or connection we had with the past. I believe the old
saying goes “The Lord works in mysterious ways.” Now I realize that we had to
give up things in order to get new things. I have also studied philosophy and
ways to improve our quality of life, which taught that we cannot get to the
future until we let go of the past. I believed that when I learned it, but now
I truly understand the meaning of this concept.
With
everything gone and nothing to our names but the clothes we were wearing, the
car we were driving, and the guitar I was playing at church, I suddenly
realized that I don’t really need much else. We bought a few essentials, and I
feel like there is nothing else I need. Without all those material things to
weigh me down, I feel closer to God than ever before. Even my wife has a
renewed interest in attending church and worshiping the Lord in any way we can.
What should have been viewed as a disaster turned out to be a blessing, and
instead of cursing God, we are thanking Him. It was a
very hard way to learn a lesson, but it was worth it because I now view life
from a different perspective.
Now my
mission, more than ever, is to help people become closer to God and to read the
Bible to find answers for life’s questions without them
having to go through what Peggy and I had to endure. I hope that as I
use my website to share this information with you, you will trust my intentions
and believe what I have to say, and will desire to learn more about God, about
Jesus and about the Holy Spirit so that you can feel the relief, the
confidence, the calm and the happiness that comes with knowing God.
Closing
prayer:
Let’s pray
together (I’d like to thank the Catholic
Online website for this appropriate prayer):
Displaying
the treasures of Your work,
Jesus, You invited me to follow You,
To sell my goods, to give to the poor,
And to completely submit Myself to You.
Desires for wealth leads to greed,
Satisfaction never being reached.
He who seeks no earthly possessions
Is free of all avarice aspirations.
Jesus, edify my weak human nature,
To resist unnecessary commodities,
Those classified as evident luxury.
May I subdue all greedy tendencies!