Wealth is a distraction from God; we should use it to help the poor.
In the Parable of the Rich Fool, Jesus entails a story about a rich farmer who was blessed with a rich harvest. Pleased with himself, this farmer spent days building bigger barns to store all his grain. However, unfortunately, upon finishing his structures, he died that night without a chance to enjoy his wealth. This parable teaches that during which we are given an opportunity to benefit society, when we have the wrong attitude and spend this opportunity benefiting ourselves instead of others, we are pulled away from God as well as our duty to serve him, and in doing so, may never completely be happy with what we have worked so hard for. The Catechism of the Catholic Church also states, “God blesses those who come to the aid of the poor and rebukes those who turn away from them… Love for the poor is incompatible with immoderate use of riches or their selfish use.” (2443, 2445) Christians are also told in the Bible, to share their time and wealth with those less fortunate. “Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you. (Matthew 5:42)
Jesus identifies with the poor
In fact, Jesus identifies and has shared his life with the poor. When Mary gave birth to Jesus, she and Joseph were homeless for a time, and had to stay at a manger where the animals lived. Through the teachings of the Parable of the Sheep and Goats, it is taught that when we serve the poor, we are serving God. He talks about separating the good and bad in the world, just as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. To the “good people”, he tells them that they are going to heaven because, “when [He] was hungry, [they] fed him.” When they asked Jesus when they had ever done this, Jesus replied, “When you did it for the least of my brothers, you did it for me.” Although these good people had not directly fed Jesus, by helping those he identified with, and those created in “his image,” they also fed Jesus as well. Here it seems as though the place in which people go after death (Heaven or Hell,) is determined by how they have behaved with the poor.
Importance of right attitudes toward our actions
It is also taught that we should not pursue wealth in our life, but rather make ourselves rich in the spiritual essence. “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth… But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven.” (Matthew 6:19-20) However, in serving the poor, we should keep in mind that our actions are as equally important as our intentions. If we reach out hand for the sole reason of being seen with a charitable heart, He will not reward us spiritually. Jesus teaches this in the Sermon on the Mount where he talks about charity and riches: “Be careful not to parade your good deeds before men to attract their notice; by doing so you will lose all reward from your Father in heaven.” In addition, He teaches that the amount of money you contribute is not as important as our actions and sacrifices. In other words, our actions speak louder than our words and money. James 2 says that, “faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” In The Widow’s Offering, a poor widow gave an extremely small amount of money to the temple. However, Jesus upon seeing this said, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything – all she had to live on.” Despite how little she gave to the temple, she sacrificed more than the others who had given more money – and that was more respectable.
Earning money through honest means
The Christian Church also preaches that although Christians do indeed have a duty to fill in terms of providing for themselves and their families, they must only gain their money through lawful and moral paths. This meaning of course, that no Christian should be involved in businesses that exploit people, such as the sex and gambling industries where money is obtained without honest work. The Catholic Church in particular detail that despite the amount of wealth and power you may obtain through whatever line of work, true happiness lies in none other, but God alone.
In conclusion, Christians believe that we have a duty so serve the poor as we are all created in the image of God. They view wealth as neither intrinsically good nor evil, but believe that the wrong attitude can lead us to commit immoral acts. They also believe that we should consider our intentions when serving the poor and let our actions speak for our words, while gaining our wealth through honest means. (1036)
