One of the most difficult things in Christian faith is with regard to money, making of money and spending money. Jesus didn’t show any inclination towards money and towards making of money. His teachings were more in the direction of equality and justice and business was not a concern for him at all. Perhaps we can interpret some of his teachings to bring out some management principles, but not with regard to income generation. The early church was also least concerned with money and instead preached and practiced community living and sharing of resources. But things have changed now. We are all in need of money for practical reasons. So, it is imperative for us to understand what the bible says about money and the creation of wealth.
St. Luke 16:13 says, “No
servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the
other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve
God and mammon.” The teaching is quite clear and yet needs some exploration.
Mammon can be seen in different ways. Some church fathers saw it as evil and
therefore something to keep a distance from. Others interpreted it as money or
wealth and therefore said that we cannot serve God and money at the same time.
So, is it bad to do
business and to work? We can’t say that at this point because it will lead to the
collapse of the markets and economy. It will also lead to the compromising of
jobs which in turn will put a burden on several families. So, working and doing
business is fine as people will have the satisfaction for working for their
bread/food. But it becomes problematic when people use their money to sway the
decision making or the policies of the church, when money is used for
purchasing seats, power and authority.
Everyone is equal in the
church. Whether one is a business person, working professional, executive, doctor, lawyer, medical worker, small scale
trader or daily wage worker, everyone is the same. Everyone is the same before the
Lord’s table because the Holy body and Holy blood of our Lord cannot be
purchased and bought. Repentance and humility are the only ways of approaching
the table and approaching our Lord. But unfortunately, this is not the case in
several churches and Christian communities. Money speaks, money matters and money
sways.
Lent should be a time to
correct this. Money should become spiritual, prayerful and helpful. Money gets
value only when used to help the poor and needy and feed the hungry. Till then
it is only paper. Many people ask for prayers before starting a shop, starting
a business or project and starting a job. But that should also extend to the
money and income already at hand. We should pray for the thinking,
responsibility and social concern to make best use of the money we have.
I am not just talking about
tithes and help for the church but how we can be of help to each other. It can
also go on to having a fund for medical emergencies to which everyone
contributes according to their ability and from which those having medical
emergencies can take from. It is not to say that those who are rich should not
have luxuries and buy what they want. But to say that money can only be related
to God if it helps God’s people. Without this it is only mammon. And mammon
could mean money or even evil.
Money can lead us in two
directions. It can make us evil by making us think that money is the ultimate and
only thing in life. Or, it can make us good by thinking that money is only a
piece of paper which we need but which does not control our life. This lent,
shall we pray over our businesses, jobs, shops, work and savings, income,
investments, profits and salaries so that we put it to good use and make it
spiritual, instead of evil and individualistic. Amen.
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