Is it ok for Christians to be wealthy or not ok?

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Rozellelily

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I always thought that according to Catholicism both being poor and being rich was ok but that the rich has a great responsibility to the poor and use much of their money to help others instead of living a lavish lifestyle.

Bible verse Luke 13 “The parable of the rich fool” seems to sugggest otherwise though…
God told the man he was a fool for wanting to build a bigger barn and store his surplus grain but in reality isn’t this how businesses work?
Ie:you buy more stock to make a more successful business etc…
Also,people everyday save for their retirement.
If we were to only focus on spiritual things instead of material,as the bible seems to suggest,we would ultimately be ‘stuffed’ as there is such a thing as the cost of living,job security,business success or failure etc…

God seems to criticise this barn guy but yet in other verses in the bible like Proverbs 31 earning riches seems to be looked on as a good thing.
Ie:the virtuous woman’s family in proverbs were likely ‘wealthy’ according to their era if they could wear purple colour clothing etc which was back then expensive.

13 Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”

14 Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” 15 Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”

16 And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. 17 He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’

18 “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. 19 And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’

20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’

21 “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”
 
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Rozellelily said:
God told the man he was a fool for wanting to build a bigger barn and store his surplus grain but in reality isn’t this how businesses work?
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First, the parable is Luke 12:16-21. It’s not in Luke 13.

Second, Jesus explains the parable afterwards in verse 21:
Thus will it be for the one who stores up treasure for himself but is not rich in what matters to God.
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Jesus is clearly talking about pursuing wealth and planning for the future materially without any concern for spiritual matters. He’s not condemning business or retirement so much as condemning the pursuit of those at the cost of spiritual blessings. Granted, that would still condemn much of America, but that’s another discussion.
Rozellelily said:
If we were to only focus on spiritual things instead of material,as the bible seems to suggest,we would ultimately be ‘stuffed’ as there is such a thing as the cost of living,job security,business success or failure etc…
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There are many people who pursue such things at the expense of God and family. Sometimes this is imposed on them by the company. Sometimes it is self-imposed. Sometimes it is both, assuming the person knew of the company’s work-life balance problems beforehand. That’s a major problem.

Now, it is possible that people replace work with pleasure. They may have a good work-life balance, but they spend all their money on just their own personal pursuits, never considering tithing or charity. That’s another problem.

Some people, however, do a pretty good job of balancing pursuit of spiritual needs and physical ones. I doubt God is opposed to us working high-paying jobs and being wise with our money, but He certainly desires that we give back at least some of what He has given us whether that be time or money.
 
Ok thanks.
What about though when workplaces don’t allow work life balance?
Ie:if you don’t do the work and amount of hours they require,including working at home after leaving work,they will just find someone else who will do it and you will be out of a job.

Sometimes the choices seem to be being a monkey/slave for a company and expected to overwork and earn a decent wage to live in a safe area,or other alternative is have a work life balance doing a lower paid job for different company and then only afford to live in unsafe area/low socioeconomic area where have to be wary of other neighbours as they may do drug or crime etc…
 
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The bible verses support your original thoughts. The rich man was punished because he did nothing for the poor even though the poor man sat just outside his door.
The same thing for the barn guy. He can go ahead and build larger barns but he still has an obligation to the poor. Remember, life is short and then we die. We take none of our material possessions with us when we die. There is no UHaul truck that well follow us to the grave.
 
The parable of the rich fool clearly condems hoarding. And yes, the modern economy pretty much runs on hoarding: savings, stock, pension funds, etc. In fact, the combination of money, banks, insurance companies, and financial markets, are what make hoarding possible. Is it wrong for Christians to use this system to great financial advantage? Yes, it is. But it’s nearly impossible to avoid using it altogether.

Hoarding riches creates an inappropriate sense of security. Christ told us not to concern ourselves with tomorrow: but the motivation for hoarding is always concern for the future – not only tomorrow, but next year, next decade, “when the kids go to college”, “when we’re old”, etc. All this anticipation of future financial burdens is quite contrary to Christ’s teaching in Matthew 6:30-34. But again, the system puts a lot of pressure on you to think this way.

Also, wealth is addictive. Once you’re used to it, it becomes hard to go without it. You grow attached, even if you think you don’t. And attachments are an obstacle on the spiritual journey. That’s why Christ said it’s easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God. (Matthew 19:24)
 
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a precision! the rich man who is condemned in the Bible is not only one who has a lot of money or material good.
If all your credit is a penny, and you are unwilling to give this to someone who is in a very urgent vital need, then you are a “bad rich man” according to Christ’s teachings, althougt financially you are a poor man

The beatitude of poverty consists in being willing to become poor, or voluntarily accepting poverty, God willing. So whoever practices the beatitude of poverty is not afraid to become effectively poor, he even wants it, and seeks opportunities to become so.
 
But if everyone became poor who would help people in poverty,those who have illnesses,donate to hospitals,food relief etc?
 
if everyone became poor, it would mean that everyone is rich, for the poor is defined in relation to the rich
 
Mboo said:
if everyone became poor, it would mean that everyone is rich, for the poor is defined in relation to the rich
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No, poverty is not defined relative to the wealth of the rich. Otherwise you’d have to say the middle class is poor, which makes no sense. If the wealth of the poor must be compared to that of another group’s, it would be that of the middle class. But this is also a poor definition for poverty. This may be my opinion, but poverty is having so little money that it is difficult if not impossible to provide for one’s most basic needs: food, shelter, etc.
 
I highly recommend you read the Encyclical, “Rerum Novarum” by Pope Leo XIII.
http://w2.vatican.va/content/leo-xi...nts/hf_l-xiii_enc_15051891_rerum-novarum.html

“… The following duties bind the wealthy owner and the employer: not to look upon their work people as their bondsmen, but to respect in every man his dignity as a person ennobled by Christian character. They are reminded that, according to natural reason and Christian philosophy, working for gain is creditable, not shameful, to a man, since it enables him to earn an honorable livelihood; but to misuse men as though they were things in the pursuit of gain, or to value them solely for their physical powers - that is truly shameful and inhuman. Again justice demands that, in dealing with the working man, religion and the good of his soul must be kept in mind. Hence, the employer is bound to see that the worker has time for his religious duties; that he be not exposed to corrupting influences and dangerous occasions; and that he be not led away to neglect his home and family, or to squander his earnings. Furthermore, the employer must never tax his work people beyond their strength, or employ them in work unsuited to their sex and age. His great and principal duty is to give every one what is just. Doubtless, before deciding whether wages axe fair, many things have to be considered; but wealthy owners and all masters of labor should be mindful of this - that to exercise pressure upon the indigent and the destitute for the sake of gain, and to gather one’s profit out of the need of another, is condemned by all laws, human and divine. To defraud any one of wages that are his due is a great crime which cries to the avenging anger of Heaven. “Behold, the hire of the laborers… which by fraud has been kept back by you, crieth; and the cry of them hath entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth.”(6) Lastly, the rich must religiously refrain from cutting down the workmen’s earnings, whether by force, by fraud, or by usurious dealing; and with all the greater reason because the laboring man is, as a rule, weak and unprotected, and because his slender means should in proportion to their scantiness be accounted sacred. Were these precepts carefully obeyed and followed out, would they not be sufficient of themselves to keep under all strife and all its causes?
  1. But the Church, with Jesus Christ as her Master and Guide, aims higher still. She lays down precepts yet more perfect, and tries to bind class to class in friendliness and good feeling. The things of earth cannot be understood or valued aright without taking into consideration the life to come, the life that will know no death …”
 
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Rozellelily said:
What about though when workplaces don’t allow work life balance?
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If it is truly interfering with your spiritual life and life with family, then you could seek a better team within the company or look for a new job.

With that said, there are ways of figuring some of this out even before getting the job. Some companies have reputations for poor work/life balance (e.g. Amazon, Netflix, SpaceX), and sites like Glassdoor can help you research. Searching around online a bit can also help, and there tend to be some buzzwords in job descriptions and interviews that can raise red flags. All of this can also be turned the other way for companies with good work/life balance.

And while I am using large tech companies as the reference point since that’s where I work, it can probably apply to other industries as well.
Roguish said:
The parable of the rich fool clearly condems hoarding.
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As already noted, that’s only part of it. In Christ’s own words:
Thus will it be for the one who stores up treasure for himself but is not rich in what matters to God.
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This is critical because Christ is not condemning the storing in isolation. In fact, I’m not aware of any time He condemns wealth in isolation of some spiritual flaw. He condemns the love of money, though that can be a problem among the poor just as much as the rich, and He condemns the replacement of God with money or seeing of money as some sign of righteousness. We shouldn’t remove His words from those contexts, lest we focus so much on the money that we forget things like government, family, pleasure, etc. can also take the same place money does.
 
Priest speaks of St. John Vianney - and his charity - very impressive.

 
As said above, the great St. Louis is a good response to this question.
He was the king of France, powerful and rich, yet this never made him arrogant or greedy.
 
The saints generally agree we must give our “superfluous” riches. However, what is superfluous can vary from person to person. St. Robert Bellarmine notes this in his book “The Art of Dying Well.”
Lastly, It is necessary above all things, if we wish to be saved and to die a good death, diligently to enquire, either by our own reading and meditation, or by consulting holy and learned men, whether our “superfluous” riches can be retained with out sin, or whether we ought of necessity to give them to the poor; and again, what are to be understood by superfluities, and what by necessary goods. It may happen that to some men moderate riches may be superfluous; whilst to others great riches may be absolutely essential.
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Wealth is like any other good.
If it’s is recognized as a gift, and if the creator is recognized, and human responsibility is exercised with it, great. In other words, is your wealth in the service of love of God and others?

If it becomes an idol or a tool for oppression, or a source of insular comfort, not great.

No different than the gift of your life.
 
A priest once told my wife "money is a good servant but a poor master."
 
Re: work/life balance –

As St. Paul tells us, everything we do in life is supposed to be a form of prayer. The Benedictine spirituality includes a strong emphasis on work being a form of prayer.

This may seem impractical to those of us who do not live in monasteries. But St. Catherine of Siena became a great saint by learning to pray while doing strenuous housework, and maintaining a little room for prayer inside herself.

If people earn their wealth honestly, there is no shame in it. It is just another gift.

And if wealthy people spend their money wisely, and are able to help the poor and needy, they can do great things for God’s sake.
 
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