Catholics and Money

  • Thread starter Thread starter Gavin
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
G

Gavin

Guest
I want to be a good Catholic and I want to love Jesus with everything I have. But I just wanted to know about money. My grandfather is always trying to push me to be successful and have a nice house and stuff. I would love that but I don’t want to go against the teachings of the Bible. So can someone explain to me if being rich is a bad thing and how do I go about being successful and a Christian
 
Wealth provides many opportunities to be generous to others. It is certainly ok to be financially successful, particularly if you are kind. Consider that many successful people provide employment for others,give generously to their church and charities, and help others in hardship.

It is also ok to enjoy your success… have a nice home and vacations. But if you are able to live more simply and be more generous, that is lovely.

I personally lament that I am not financially successful as I worry about being a financial burden to my son or others when I am old and wish I could be more generous.
 
I spoke to my priest about this. He said as long as we don’t put the importance of money first, and that we use it wisely, including helping others and for charitable purposes, there is no problem having wealth.
 
First of all, please understand that you will likely not become rich, but in this society a significant amount of money is needed just to make sure you cover your basic needs and have a little fun. Example would be that one might not wish to drive a Porsche or Ferrari, but even just buying a car that has room for your family and runs well is a significant amount of money these days. Sending your kids to a good school costs quite a bit of money these days. Etc.

Second, please understand your grandfather is wanting you to be able to look after yourself and your family after he’s gone.

When I was young I was all anti-rich and stuff and then when I saw how much it actually cost to just live in a safe neighborhood and have a car to drive, it changed my perspective on a lot of things.

God doesn’t mind if you try to use your talents and have a halfway decent life for yourself and your family. There are saints who were rich and saints who were middle-class and saints who were poor. The saints that had some money didn’t flash their wealth and they were generous in helping others and doing penance themselves. There were also saints who decided to literally give up everything they owned and live the life of the poor in order to better follow Jesus, but the vast majority of them making this decision were not family men or women. Often they had a situation like their spouse and kids had all died, or their spouse had died and the kids were grown up and launched in life, or they decided not to get married.

The key is detachment from worldly things, including riches. If Jesus appeared before you and said “It’s me or the money” would you choose him? Does your pursuit of money get in the way of you living a moral life, going to church, helping those in need, etc? You can also use your money to help your church or your favorite ministries. Remember Mother Angelica’s story of needing some type of transmitter at a huge cost and some rich man stepping in to pay for it. Remember also that Jesus’ tomb was a gift from a wealthy man. Without that rich man stepping up, Jesus’ body would have been dumped in a mass grave pit or a hastily dug hole somewhere.

It’s not about whether or not you have money, it’s about your attitude. I know that isn’t a very clear answer but for now just understand that success and being a good Christian aren’t mutually exclusive, but that “to whom much is given, much is expected”.
 
Read Matthew Chapter 6, noting the following exerpts:

God and Money. 24 “No one can serve two masters He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.

**Dependence on God.**25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat [or drink], or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds in the sky; they do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are not you more important than they? 27Can any of you by worrying add a single moment to your life-span? 28Why are you anxious about clothes? Learn from the way the wild flowers grow. They do not work or spin. 29But I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was clothed like one of them. 30 If God so clothes the grass of the field, which grows today and is thrown into the oven tomorrow, will he not much more provide for you, O you of little faith? 31 So do not worry and say, ‘What are we to eat?’ or ‘What are we to drink?’ or ‘What are we to wear?’ 32 All these things the pagans seek. Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom [of God] and his righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides. 34 Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself. Sufficient for a day is its own evil.

Saint Matthew was an accountant, and his Gospel is probably the best of them for financial advice.

Note in the above passages Jesus himself said “You cannot serve God and mammo”, but He also said to “seek first the Kingdom”. The result is, God will provide for all your needs.

Look at the bigger picture.

I am also an accountant, and I deal with people and money all the time.

Some people are ruled by money. That is not what you want.

But money is also a part of the way we all deal with life, so it is part of our social obligations.

That said, render unto Ceasar what is due Ceasar, but render unto God what is Gods.

Serve God - also takes into account all aspects of your life… your spirit, your happiness, your health, your family and so on… Practice what you believe, and let that be your vocation, your profession and your livelihood… Be a wise steward, and - as Jesus says - God will provide for all your needs…

Finally, if you note the last words of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says “He who builds upon these words of mine will be like one who built his house upon rock…” In other words, it will endure…

Words very much worth heeding, when you consider how many businesses are flash in the pan, quick flip, fly by night operations these days… But the church has endured…
 
Kindnessmatters said:
Wealth provides many opportunities to be generous to others. It is certainly ok to be financially successful, particularly if you are kind. Consider that many successful people provide employment for others,give generously to their church and charities, and help others in hardship…
Click to expand...
Absolutely agree.
Kindnessmatters said:
I personally lament that I am not financially successful as I worry about being a financial burden to my son or others when I am old and wish I could be more generous.
Click to expand...
Agree again, and I was just thinking about this a few minutes ago when I donated online to my favorite charity.

I gave what I felt I could afford; if I were a high-income person I could give a lot more and be part of their special VIP club. I often wonder whether I’m letting God down by not being a high-income person and contributing more to the maintenance of society.
 
Bad idea: Lying to people, cheating them of their money so you can have it.
Good idea: The laborer is worth his hire. Work, and be compensated for your efforts.

Bad idea: Viewing money as an end.
Good idea: Viewing money as a tool by which you can help yourself, your dependents, and others.

Bad idea: Finding your security in money and things.
Good idea: Joyful trust in God.

Bad idea: Prioritizing money over personal relationships with family, dependents, others.
Good idea: Keeping a balance between your need to provide materially for others, vs your obligation to cultivate loving relationships with your family, dependents, others.
 
How old are you?
Your grandpa should push you to Love God first and everything else will follow.
Some people dont wanna have big houses etc…
Love God first
 
Anyone who thinks that getting financially ahead in life is about having “big houses” does not understand the economics of certain areas of the USA where a one- or two-bedroom house can cost a huge amount of money and school for the kids, gas for your car etc can cost even more.

Yes, I agree with “love God first” but one also wants to be able to pay his or her own bills and not be economically dependent on others or be a public charge. It’s true you could make all the “right” decisions and something like illness or an unexpected economic downturn could still mess you up anyway, but you should at least try to be a good steward of your talents when it comes to making a living.
 
Last edited:
I’m 17 and He puts God first in his life. My grandpa wants me to be able to have nice things. But he was going to be a priest before he married my grandma
 
Being rich is not a bad thing. Many rich people are good people. Just like how being poor doesn’t make you good as there are many horrible poor people.
 
Gavin said:
being rich is a bad thing and how do I go about being successful and a Christian
Click to expand...
Being successful can mean many things, not just being rich. Success in this world is awarded not by God but by the world. God’s awards are usually despised by the world because they are not from this world.
God does not judge us if we are unsuccessful but He does judge us if we break His commandments on our way to success. So on your way to achieve what you want in life make sure you remain on God’s side.
P.S. Your grandpa is teaching you how to be organized in your life because he loves you and wants you to have everything. He may not actually be teaching you how to get rich like you presume now, just how to get organized.
 
There is nothing wrong with being comfortable and providing for your family. It’s when you make money the root of your entire existence that it becomes a problem. The other thing that no one talks about? If you can’t feed your own family you can’t feed other families. So you need a little bit of money to give to charity. So money isn’t bad.
 
You don’t want to focus on material things, like a new car, a big house or the newest TV. There is nothing wrong with having these things if you build wealth and can afford them. You just don’t want to make them your goal. You want to support your family and save for the future in case of illness, injuries or other catastrophic events in your life, and for retirement. Give to charity as you are comfortable giving. Serve our Lord in the ways you can. You don’t live to accumulate wealth, but it can be a tool to serve God and care for your family.
 
The founder of Alibaba, the giant e-commerce site, is China’s richest man and retired at 55, said he lives by the Chinese work practice known as “996.” The number refers to working from 9 am to 9 pm six days a week. You can probably become very rich by doing that but it would be misguided ambition IMO.
 
Might be unpopular opinion here, but I don’t believe money define who you are; I believe money Amplify who you are. That is, money is just an Amplifier.

For example, someone might be obsessed with hoarding money, but when that person is so poor that he has nothing to give, then his lack of giving isn’t seen by the world. Once he has a lot of money, suddenly everyone can see how much of a selfish and thrifty he is and they thought money changed him. Or another example is someone who is abusive and mean but at the bottom of the ladder is not going to have any power to exercise his bully, but once he has the money thus the power, everyone is going to see he doing what he has always wanted to.

So money doesn’t define you or change you, it only bring out your inner self, and if you are very successful and have a lot of money, then a lot more people will see you and who you are.

To answer your question, being rich (having a lot of money) AND being successful isn’t bad, as long as you are a good person.
 
Last edited:
I think that’s a pretty good way of looking at it in general. It goes against the saying “Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely (money being a form of power)”, which would imply that power/money itself changes the person, presumably in a bad way. However, a perfectly virtuous person will be unchanged by both wealth and misfortune. Meanwhile, an evil person will become morally worse if you give him more power to express his depravity and exercise his vices. Most of us fall somewhere in between.
 
Have you ever read “ The Millionaire Next Door?” You don’t have to make a lot of money to be rich. Living below your means combined with wise investing can help people with average salaries build wealth. There are many high income people who are in debt up to their ears because they try to live the lifestyle they think they should rather than save. Buying big houses and other nice things doesn’t help.
Buy the house you need, not want. Make saving a priority and learn to invest. Your wealth will increase to the point where you can help others in the way you want. Patience is a good thing.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top