Why your riches aren’t yours alone

People have divergent views on material possessions. Some regard them as sign of God’s blessing while others value being poor as virtue. What does the Church say?

“…an otherwise industrious man is called “rich fool” (Lk 12:16-2)

In the Old Testament, material goods are appreciated as necessary for life and as a sign of God’s blessing.

However, there is a concern, especially among prophets, against abuses where wealth becomes a tool of oppression of the poor by the rich. Indeed, the experience of poverty can be an evidence of one’s dependence on God.

Therefore, whether rich or poor, one should acknowledge one’s poverty before God since “when sought and accepted with a religious attitude, poverty opens one to recognising and accepting the order of creation [thus a] rich man is the one who banks his trust in riches instead of God and depends on his own strength” (Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church [CSDC], 324).

In the New Testament, economic activity is considered a response to human vocation to cultivate and develop the earth.

That is why in the parable of the talents (Mt 25:14-30) Jesus praises the industrious servants who made profit from what was given to them. However, the material goods should be at the service of all—sharing is imperative.

So it is evil to hoard riches for oneself in the face of suffering masses for it contradicts the principal of universal destination of goods (328). Human beings are administrators and not owners of the earthly goods.

No wonder an otherwise industrious man is called “rich fool” (Lk 12:16-2); not because he worked hard and had plenty, but rather because he thought only of himself: “I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. And I’ll say to myself, ‘You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.’”

He ignored God who gave fruit to his labour and the neighbour who was equally the intended destination of the goods of the earth. He focussed on building larger barns to hoard his grain in the face of empty stomachs.

This is contrary to what the Church Father St Ambrose said: “The bosoms of the poor, the houses of widows, the mouths of children are the barns which last forever.” True wealth consists not in what we keep, but in what we give away.

Other Church Fathers also emphasised sharing. St John Chrysostom said: “Wealth is a good that comes from God and is to be used by its owner and made to circulate so that even the needy may enjoy it. Evil is seen in the immoderate attachment to riches and the desire to hoard.”

And St Gregory: “The rich man is only an administrator of what he posseses; giving what is required to the needy is a task that is to be performed with humility because the goods do not belong to the one who distributes them. He who retains riches only for himself is not innocent; giving to those in need means paying a debt.”

Thus, respect for the dignity of the human person is a basic moral guidance in matters of the economy, “for man is the source, the centre, and the purpose of all economics and social life” (Gaudium et Spes, 63).

So it is good to bear in mind that “the purpose of the economy is not found in the economy itself, but rather in its being destined to humanity and society” (CSDC 331).

Capitalism becomes a matter of concern if it is understood as unlimited freedom in the economic sector without regard for the principle of common good, that is, if the suffering people are ignored. Private property is the freedom for economic initiative—but to use one’s talents to contribute to economic growth for the good of all.

Therefore, although profit may be an indicator of a healthy business, we have to cross-examine: is it really serving the community?

That is fundamental for discernment since “the legitimate pursuit of profit should be in harmony with the irreconcilable protection of the dignity of the people” (CSDC 340).

Workers are part of the company’s most valuable asset and the decisive factor of production. Therefore, the Church teaches, important decisions concerning finances to buy or sell, resize or close should not be limited to financial and commercial factors (CSDC 344). Even the free market has to be exercised in the light of social service to the human person.

We do well do hear the exhortation from Henry Burton: “Have you had a kindness shown? Pass it on; ’Twas not given for thee alone, Pass it on; Let it travel down the years, Let it wipe another’s tears, ’Til in Heaven the deed appears, Pass it on. ”