In the Gospel today, the Lord warns us “to guard against all greed, for though one may be rich, one’s life does not consist of possessions.” Our Lord does not say that the Christian cannot be rich; he says, rather, that the rich must be careful, lest their wealth and possessions become the reason for which they live. It is very difficult for anyone preoccupied by the thought of owning more and more possessions, and by the constant determination to be as comfortable as possible in this life, to keep focused on loving God entirely, and on seeing him in the life to come.
The problem with materialism is that it arrests our attention, constantly, to care for material things: my home, my car, my TV, my work, my golf game, my dinner party. These things—none of which are wrong in and of themselves—can nevertheless distract us from our principle concern: the salvation of our immortal souls.
If we are too preoccupied with material things, then we are not going to pay enough attention to our spiritual life, which requires detachment from things so that we can attach ourselves to God. The Lord has given us much for which we are most grateful. However, let us not amass our treasures here below. Rather, let us seek to be “rich in what matters to God.”
The problem with materialism is that it arrests our attention, constantly, to care for material things: my home, my car, my TV, my work, my golf game, my dinner party. These things—none of which are wrong in and of themselves—can nevertheless distract us from our principle concern: the salvation of our immortal souls.
If we are too preoccupied with material things, then we are not going to pay enough attention to our spiritual life, which requires detachment from things so that we can attach ourselves to God. The Lord has given us much for which we are most grateful. However, let us not amass our treasures here below. Rather, let us seek to be “rich in what matters to God.”
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