I want to be a trillionaire

[Rabid]

From what you have said, there is nothing morally wrong with looking to attain $1 or $100 or $100,000 or $1,000,000,000,000. Contrary to what some might say, simply wanting to achieve that much worldly success, especially for the heavenly goals you state, does not equate to you turning back on God and full-out man-hugging the devil. Can it lead to bad things if you’re not careful? Of course, as can anything else.

The key to the passage above referring to the “root of all evil” is the phrase: “the LOVE of money.” If you are driven to attain wealth for LOVE of your children and family, that isn’t wrong. In the same vein, if you are driven to attain wealth for love of others, because you have a cause that requires funding, that is not only NOT wrong, but Jesus demands that we honor him by making wise moves, financial and otherwise (the Parable of the Talents; if your talent is success in some field and it is within your grasp to use that talent and the wealth that comes with it [however large that may be] for the glory of God and the prospering of his kingdom, then on the Day of your Judgement Jesus will hold you accountable for what you COULD have done but didn’t.)

My one additional comment would be to heed the advice of Edmund above. If you allow the pursuit of money to not just take away from family but HARM your family (working 8 hours a day takes away from the family but is not morally wrong), that, I believe, will be judged harsher than what you could have done for the world. We all have a responsibility to evangelize the world and help the poor, but we have a PERSONAL responsibility to our family, and most especially to our children, making sure they are raised correctly. If you use your wealth to show your kids how to act in the world, you are the best role model and mentor for them (outside of Jesus of course )

Hope that helps.

God Bless.

Danny

 

[budgie2]

Is there anything morally wrong with aspiring to be wealthy?
Cause that’s what I want to be

Jesus was poor and he blesed the poor. I think it’s stupid to fill your life with material objects that don’t have a soul, that can’t love you and that can’t communicate back with you. At the end of the day they’re just pieces of plastic, metal and wood. Material objects that contain a spirit (ie. human beings) are more important than lumps of metal that don’t ie. a car.

 

[Joseph_Kemp]

There is no sin in being successful. You will never find anything in all official Catholic teaching that says success is a sin.

What about Bill Gates? What about Warren Buffet? These are two of the richest men in the world. How would they have turned out if they had been worried about “being too rich?” Such thinking is nonsense. It is not rational thinking, and will certainly cause you much needless pain. There is no progress possible in this area, no matter how much you think about it.

The only way to determine how “rich” or “successful” you are is by comparing yourself to others. Which is precisely what Christ said NOT to do. Such behavior will only cause despair and needless anxiety.

There is no highest dollar value mentioned in the Bible. There is no highest amount of money you can accumulate that will qualify you for sin. Nowhere in any encyclical, papal publication, in Canon Law, or in the Catechism, is there any highest limit on what you can earn or own. There is no statement reading “If I earn, say, more than one million dollars, I have sinned.” Such a thing is ridiculous.

We can earn whatever we want. We can rise as high as we want. If anyone believes otherwise, this is a purely subjective view. It is not official Church teaching. You will never find anything authoritative to back it up.

It is actually quite evil. If people try to find some magical “balance” on how successful they are somehow allowed to be, they are engaging in futility. This is a good way to encourage an unhealthy conscience (scrupulosity.) This is a waste of God’s time. I cannot describe how unhappy it makes me to see my fellow Catholics engaging in such worthless madness.

We can spend our money however we choose. We can enjoy it however we wish. A Vatican Bishop I know told me that God has not put any limits on how we spend our money, on what we do with it. We should never feel any guilt in this matter. It would be utterly pointless. If we buy plenty of possessions, how many possessions are “too much?” This is arbitrary. Totally relative. You will never reach an objective answer. It is absolutely impossible. And the Church knows it.

We are encouraged by the Church not to forget about God. All our success originates from Him.

But we are NEVER meant to regard success as “sinful.” Ever. The Church’s teaching is simply not to put TOO MUCH trust in earthly things, so as to forget about God. And I don’t think any regular Catholic is going to just forget about God.

Someone wrote on a similar “wealth discussion” forum: “If I am more concerned for making money and saving it for the future, like the rich man in Luke 12, then God calls me a fool.”

No. That is not how the Church understands that story. If you do not know the Church’s gentle position on wealth and riches, the Bible will make no sense to you. It will seem contradictory and frustrating.

In the New Testament, Jesus asks a rich young man to sell all he owns and give the money to the poor. Christ says “It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter Heaven.” So it would seem that rich people cannot enter Heaven. It is sinful to be rich.

But in Proverbs, it says “A fortune gained quickly is quickly spent. But wealth accumulated slowly, steadily grows.” So it would seem that gaining wealth is a sign of wisdom. It is pleasing before God. This would seem to contradict the words of Christ.

And in another Parable (story), the Bible condemns a man who stores up much money for his own comfort. He is sent to Hell (not literally – it is a figurative story.) But in the Parable of the Talents, a different story, God rewards the man who makes much money. He punishes the man who makes nothing.

For every passage that says that being rich is a bad thing, you will find another that says being rich is good. Back and forth, back and forth. Contradiction after contradiction. How to resolve it?

First, the Bible must be understood as a unified whole. It cannot be picked apart in pieces. If you read it this way, you will get a very unbalanced, harsh, limited understanding of it. A unified understanding of the Bible is called “exegesis.” You cannot approach the Bible without it.

In the example above, the rich young man asked Christ what to do to get to Heaven. Christ told him “You know the Commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother.’" It is only when the young man pressed Jesus for what else he should do that Christ said: "Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven.”

Thus, keeping the Commandments was all that Christ required for entering Heaven. Nothing else. Until the young man pushed for more.

The story of the man who stored up much money for his comfort, and who was sent to Hell is interpreted by the Church as simply telling people that one should not forget that one’s wealth comes from God. Nobody should feel threatened by this. Simply remember God. That is all.

And God is certainly not going to punish you for making a lot of money (or perhaps none.) This is simply absurd. Such a belief will only cause you misery.

If material wealth was a sin, we would know about it. The Catholic Church would specifically teach it. It would be a doctrine. It would be in the Catechism. It would be in Canon Law. Popes would publish encyclicals about it. But as can be seen, that doesn’t happen. The only encyclicals and papal publications specifically dealing with individual wealth DEFEND the right of the individual to accumulate wealth and private property, as in the papal encyclical Rerum Novarum. Claiming that owning luxury items and being wealthy are sinful would indeed be heresy, under these conditions. Such claims don’t make any sense. Morally, or logically.

 

[Bohm_Bawerk]

A lot of people complain and deplore success, but they merely do so because they themselves are unsuccessful. Fact.

Joseph Kemp, everything you said was 100% true . I agree. Nice to know not all Catholics have a lynch-mob mentality of those who are better off than they are.

 

[davidv]

There is no sin in being successful. You will never find anything in all official Catholic teaching that says success is a sin.

What about Bill Gates? What about Warren Buffet? These are two of the richest men in the world. How would they have turned out if they had been worried about “being too rich?” Such thinking is nonsense. It is not rational thinking, and will certainly cause you much needless pain. There is no progress possible in this area, no matter how much you think about it.

The only way to determine how “rich” or “successful” you are is by comparing yourself to others. Which is precisely what Christ said NOT to do. Such behavior will only cause despair and needless anxiety.

There is no highest dollar value mentioned in the Bible. There is no highest amount of money you can accumulate that will qualify you for sin. Nowhere in any encyclical, papal publication, in Canon Law, or in the Catechism, is there any highest limit on what you can earn or own. There is no statement reading “If I earn, say, more than one million dollars, I have sinned.” Such a thing is ridiculous.

We can earn whatever we want. We can rise as high as we want. If anyone believes otherwise, this is a purely subjective view. It is not official Church teaching. You will never find anything authoritative to back it up.

It is actually quite evil. If people try to find some magical “balance” on how successful they are somehow allowed to be, they are engaging in futility. This is a good way to encourage an unhealthy conscience (scrupulosity.) This is a waste of God’s time. I cannot describe how unhappy it makes me to see my fellow Catholics engaging in such worthless madness.

We can spend our money however we choose. We can enjoy it however we wish. A Vatican Bishop I know told me that God has not put any limits on how we spend our money, on what we do with it. We should never feel any guilt in this matter. It would be utterly pointless. If we buy plenty of possessions, how many possessions are “too much?” This is arbitrary. Totally relative. You will never reach an objective answer. It is absolutely impossible. And the Church knows it.

We are encouraged by the Church not to forget about God. All our success originates from Him.

But we are NEVER meant to regard success as “sinful.” Ever. The Church’s teaching is simply not to put TOO MUCH trust in earthly things, so as to forget about God. And I don’t think any regular Catholic is going to just forget about God.

Someone wrote on a similar “wealth discussion” forum: “If I am more concerned for making money and saving it for the future, like the rich man in Luke 12, then God calls me a fool.”

No. That is not how the Church understands that story. If you do not know the Church’s gentle position on wealth and riches, the Bible will make no sense to you. It will seem contradictory and frustrating.

In the New Testament, Jesus asks a rich young man to sell all he owns and give the money to the poor. Christ says “It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter Heaven.” So it would seem that rich people cannot enter Heaven. It is sinful to be rich.

But in Proverbs, it says “A fortune gained quickly is quickly spent. But wealth accumulated slowly, steadily grows.” So it would seem that gaining wealth is a sign of wisdom. It is pleasing before God. This would seem to contradict the words of Christ.

And in another Parable (story), the Bible condemns a man who stores up much money for his own comfort. He is sent to Hell (not literally – it is a figurative story.) But in the Parable of the Talents, a different story, God rewards the man who makes much money. He punishes the man who makes nothing.

For every passage that says that being rich is a bad thing, you will find another that says being rich is good. Back and forth, back and forth. Contradiction after contradiction. How to resolve it?

First, the Bible must be understood as a unified whole. It cannot be picked apart in pieces. If you read it this way, you will get a very unbalanced, harsh, limited understanding of it. A unified understanding of the Bible is called “exegesis.” You cannot approach the Bible without it.

In the example above, the rich young man asked Christ what to do to get to Heaven. Christ told him “You know the Commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother.’" It is only when the young man pressed Jesus for what else he should do that Christ said: "Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven.”

Thus, keeping the Commandments was all that Christ required for entering Heaven. Nothing else. Until the young man pushed for more.

The story of the man who stored up much money for his comfort, and who was sent to Hell is interpreted by the Church as simply telling people that one should not forget that one’s wealth comes from God. Nobody should feel threatened by this. Simply remember God. That is all.

And God is certainly not going to punish you for making a lot of money (or perhaps none.) This is simply absurd. Such a belief will only cause you misery.
{snipped to make room for response

Two thoughts:

1. There are moral and immoral ways to become successful. One immoral way is to make success the object of our life (an idol IOW).
2. There are moral and immoral was to enjoy the success.

Based the this, the Church is not as silent on success as this post seems to imply.

 

[Joseph_Kemp]

Bohm Bawerk WORTE: “A lot of people complain and deplore success, but they merely do so because they themselves are unsuccessful. Fact…Nice to know not all Catholics have a lynch-mob mentality of those who are better off than they are.”

I appreciate the feedback. I understand it can be difficult to maintain a gentle understanding of the Catholic faith when on the Internet. There are so many conflicting views. Before the invention of the Internet, I literally had no idea how many strange, unhappy and harsh understandings people had about this simple, simple faith.

In the area of wealth, riches, and the owning of possessions, the Internet has caused me unbearable stress and pain. Many Catholics seem to think that just HAVING wealth and possessions is “sinful,” when it most certainly is not. The papal encyclical Rerum Novarum actually describes IN FULL the right of people to accumulate private property and wealth. The Pope makes it clear that if people cannot accumulate wealth, then there is no motivation for working hard. He even goes so far as to describe the right to private property and wealth as “sacred.” But I find that most Catholics have never read – or even HEARD – of Rerum Novarum.

---

DAVIDV WROTE: “Two thoughts:

1. There are moral and immoral ways to become successful. One immoral way is to make success the object of our life (an idol IOW).
2. There are moral and immoral was to enjoy the success.

Based the this, the Church is not as silent on success as this post seems to imply.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Catholic Church simply teaches that we should remember that all our wealth and possessions come from God. Nobody should feel threatened by this. Just don’t forget God. That is all. What, exactly, is difficult about this? I hear this so often in Church, I think it’s virtually IMPOSSIBLE to forget that one’s wealth and success come from God. Simply remembering is enough.

Of course there are immoral ways to become successful. But I honestly don’t believe that most committed Catholics bother with such “immoral ways.” Making “success the (sole) object of our life” is EXTRAORDINARILY rare among committed Catholics. We just enjoy wealth and possessions for what they are. Many Catholics NEVER place such things above God. I do believe that there can be too much emphasis among Catholics upon how wealth can become an “idol,” when it often never does. All this unnecessary emphasis often makes one wonder if just enjoying one’s wealth AT ALL is sinful. Which it certainly is not.

There are definitely “moral and immoral was to enjoy the success.” But buying mansions, luxury cars, airplanes and beautiful paintings is NOT sinful. Buying things AT ALL is not sinful. If it was, there would be no entrepreneurs, no international trade, no business ventures, and no real prosperity for anyone. Who supplies your paycheck? Some rich person. Who built the airplane you fly on at the airport? Some rich person. We should be THANKING rich people for being rich, not berating the very concept. Such a thing is just strange.

Perhaps that is not what the above poster meant. But that is often how people seem to think of it.

I believe Catholics frequently worry far more than they should. They should only worry about BIG things, like killing people or destroying people’s reputations - things that actually ARE mortal sins. Instead I find them worrying about whether being wealthy will send them to Hell, whether enjoying leisure time will send them to Hell, whether not working at a job will send them to Hell, etc., etc., etc. - all things which are NOT sins. (Every one of these topics has shown up on Catholic Answers many times over, where people worry about them over and over for nothing.)

Again, as I pointed out above, the Catholic Church allows us to enjoy our money however we wish. We can buy and spend however we want. The idea of even WORRYING that enjoying our money is a sin is absolutely preposterous.

For example: After I finish typing this, I am going out to spend $1000 on books and building supplies for an invention I am working on. I’m not a rich guy, and I give (maybe) $5 a week in Church. But I’m enjoying my life, and I’m going on vacation next week, and I find it ridiculous that anyone should try to claim that I should do otherwise. If I was much richer, I would give a little more in Church, but whatever amount I give remains subjective, and entirely up to me. I come first. It would never have occurred to me to even worry about living this way, if it wasn’t for all the garbage on the Internet.

The Internet allows people to propagate their needless fears and baseless worries more powerfully than ever before, and they reach far more people. Although the Internet can be very useful, almost none of the information on it is ensured to be regulated or accurate at all. One must be very careful what one accepts into one’s soul, mind or heart. The wrong reasoning can simply tear a person to pieces.

There is nothing wrong with being rich. There is nothing wrong with enjoying your money. There is nothing wrong with buying nice things or enjoying life. And, if you are rich enough, there is nothing wrong with quitting your job and going on permanent vacation. There are no limits on these things at all. It is just plain bizarre and hurtful that some Catholics on the Internet sometimes suggest otherwise. Such talk is not Catholic in origin. And the Church does not officially teach such a view in any way whatsoever.

 

[Swiss_Guy]

It’s ok to be wealthy if you do good with your money and aren’t being selfish, and things just turn out to make you wealthy (after all, some one has to be or else the economy would stink), but to be greedy, uh, NO.

 

[Swiss_Guy]

In the example above, the rich young man asked Christ what to do to get to Heaven. Christ told him “You know the Commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother.’" It is only when the young man pressed Jesus for what else he should do that Christ said: "Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven.”

Thus, keeping the Commandments was all that Christ required for entering Heaven. Nothing else. Until the young man pushed for more.

Just to add on, the reason why the rich man wasn’t saved was because his wealth wasn’t less important to him than God. If God is most important in your life, then everything is ok.

Well said Joseph.