Wealth

“With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible”

Sermon on the 22nd August 2004

We heard our Lord’s words today that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of heaven. And yet society advises us that we must strive to be rich and for many people this is indeed their only goal, even if this goal means that they will have difficulty in entering the kingdom of heaven! Why is it so difficult, if not impossible, for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of heaven? Why is it so spiritually risky?

The answer may lie in the fact that the effort involved in trying to attain those riches exposes one to many spiritual dangers and temptations, and not all are capable of remaining firm in their faith and commitment to God and the Church as they try to ascend the ladder of riches. Not everyone is willing to rely on hard work and God's blessing, for some will try shortcuts to riches.

But once one has attained material riches, even if it has been attained by hard work and God's blessing, one is exposed to a new set of dangers, whether it be vanity, self-paise, self-satisfaction, gluttony, enslavement to various expensive pleasures, drunkenness, forgetfulness and scorn of the poor, and forgetfulness of God and His Church. As a wise and saintly bishop once said: “Few there are who have the strength to resist the temptation of riches and to be in control of their wealth, not becoming its servants and slaves.” The time and effort required to enjoy all the opportunities and pleasures and entertainments made possible by one’s wealth may leave one with very little time to attend to one’s spiritual progress and the services of the Church.

But thank God, with God all things are possible, and we read in Scripture of wealthy men who were more bound to God than to their riches. Abraham, the father of faith, was such a man, and righteous Job, who remained humble and obedient before God despite his great wealth, even when he lost most of it. So too Joseph of Arimathea was rich, but he used his wealth to serve the Lord in His death and to take devoted care of His body, by giving up the new tomb which was probably originally meant for himself. Also Boaz, King David's great grandfather, was a man who pleased the Lord by his benevolence and generosity. And we read about wealthy women who served the Lord with their possessions during His journeys across the Holy Land. And we see in our midst men and women who follow these holy examples, who love God and His Church above all else, who remain humble and try by all means to put their wealth to use in the service of God and those in need.

All of us who are blessed by some natural or material gift, whether it be wealth, health, unusual intelligence, talents or other special abilities have a special responsibility to remain humble and to make a special effort to be devoted to God, for else that which was supposed to be a blessing to ourselves and others will become for us heavy baggage on top of the already high hump of the camel's back.

Fr Jacobus van der Riet