“Wealth … is like a snake; it will twist around the hand and bite unless one knows how to use it properly.”

"Riches prick us with a thousand troubles in getting them, as many cares in preserving them, and yet more anxiety in spending them, and with grief in losing them." - St. Francis of Assisi: born Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone, but nicknamed Francesco; 1181 – October 3, 1226 was a Italian Catholic Friar and preacher

Scripture Text: (1 Tm 6:2c-12)

Beloved:
Teach and urge these things.
Whoever teaches something different
and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ
and the religious teaching
is conceited, understanding nothing,
and has a morbid disposition for arguments and verbal disputes.
From these come envy, rivalry, insults, evil suspicions,
and mutual friction among people with corrupted minds,
who are deprived of the truth,
supposing religion to be a means of gain.
Indeed, religion with contentment is a great gain.
For we brought nothing into the world,
just as we shall not be able to take anything out of it.
If we have food and clothing, we shall be content with that.
Those who want to be rich are falling into temptation and into a trap
and into many foolish and harmful desires,
which plunge them into ruin and destruction.
For the love of money is the root of all evils,
and some people in their desire for it have strayed from the faith
and have pierced themselves with many pains.

The wisdom presented here is palpable and is just as applicable to our lives today as it was 2,000 years ago. My favorite verse is “If we have food and clothing, we shall be content with that.” So much truth and fodder for reflection lie in that one statement.

I might add a couple more “basics” to the list of essential needs, including shelter and education. But the point is, so much of what we think we need does not really add to our lives. In fact, always wanting the latest, the newest, the best, the smartest, the fastest, is really a losing proposition. As this letter to Timothy states, “Those who want to be rich are falling into temptation and into a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires, which plunge them into ruin and destruction.”

To seek riches for their own sake, to desire to “be” rich in order to be able to have whatever we might possibly want, truly is a trap. We can never be satisfied and our lives will be dominated by the all-consuming continuous cycle, much like the hamster on the wheel.

On the other hand, if we find that money comes our way through hard work and using our God-given skills, that is something else. The money, or “riches,” was not the goal; rather, it was the work itself, the labor of love for other reasons, including often improving the lives of others.

Being a Christian IS different. Our eyes are on a different prize than the world’s. We can’t be reminded of that too often.