Your Money Isn't Your Money

Day 20/40 in The Art of Dying Well by St. Robert Bellarmine

St. Robert Bellarmine drops the hammer on the heresy of the wealthy that is so prevalent in our American culture, even among many American Christians. What is this false teaching? It is the error that the wealth we have accumulated is ultimately our own. Bellarmine cuts to the chase and basically says that if you are wealthy, then either God blessed you with it or you stole it from others. In other words, you are either a steward or a thief, but you are never the Master.

What does it mean to be a steward of God’s resources? Because we belong to Christ, we are required to cooperate with God’s plans and invest our time, talent, and treasure in growing His Kingdom and feeding the physically and spiritually impoverished. To do otherwise is to be in opposition to God’s dream for the world. This does not mean we cannot enjoy restful vacations or good ice cream, but it is a matter of mindset, values, sacrifice, and action.

Everything we have and experience should be offered up as an act of worship. If we vacation, we offer it to the Lord by resting in Him. We worship at a church in the area or visit a local retreat center or shrine. We read a spiritual book on the beach and pray for others. We laugh, rest, and have meaningful conversations with family members. We give thanks for good food that comes from God’s storehouses. Every vacation can be a retreat or pilgrimage if seek the Face of God wherever we go.

When we return home from our vacations, our spiritual priorities should be more in check. We should not attempt to recreate our vacation experiences week after week by overindulging on restaurants or pursuing luxurious experiences, but instead, we should seek to be Jesus in our city. How would Jesus live here in my shoes? How would he grow the church in my area and its mission? Who would he have over for dinner? What parts of the city would he spend most of his time? These are key questions for all of us to ask, but particularly those who are well off OR those who are blessed with lots of free time or unique talents.

YOUR FREE TIME IS NOT YOUR TIME BUT GOD’S TIME. Make a meal for the lonely or for a funeral dinner. Buy grocery or gas cards for a struggling family. Mentor couples who are struggling in their marriages or preparing for marriage. Go hiking with someone you know is struggling with depression. Lead a Bible Study or small group through a spiritual classic. There are a million needs in a parish, but not enough people willing to step up to meet those needs. Let us ask of the Lord how he wants us to steward His resources—our time, talent, and treasure!

Now, let us listen to Bellarmine on chapter 5:

CH 5: THE DECEITFUL ERROR OF THE RICH OF THIS WORLD IS EXPOSED.

“I must add the refutation of a certain error very prevalent among the rich of this world, and which greatly hinders them from living well and dying well. The error consists in this: the rich suppose that the wealth they possess is absolutely their own property, if justly acquired; and that therefore they may lawfully spend, give away, or squander their money, and that no one can say to them, "Why do you do so? Why dress so richly? Why feast so sumptuously? Why so prodigal in supporting your dogs and hawks? Why do you spend so much money in gaming, or other such-like pleasures?" They will answer: "What is it to you? Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with my own?"

Now, this error is doubtless most grievous and pernicious: for, granting that the "rich" are the masters of their own property with relation to other men; yet, with regard to God, they are not masters, but only administrators or stewards. This truth can be proved by many arguments. Hear the royal prophet: "The earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof: the world and all they that dwell therein." (Psalm 23.) And again: " For all the beasts of the wood are mine: the cattle on the hills, and the oxen. If I should be hungry, I would not tell thee: for the world is mine, and the fullness thereof." (Psalm 50:10)

…To these may be added the testimony of God Himself, who by the Prophet Haggai says, "The silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine, says the Lord of hosts" (Haggai 2:8). This the Lord spoke, that the people might understand that for the new building of the temple nothing would be wanting, since He himself would order its erection, to whom belonged all the gold and silver in the world…

If the Gospel, then, is to be credited, every rich man of this world must acknowledge that the riches he possesses, whether justly or unjustly acquired, are not his: that if they be justly acquired, he is only the steward of them; if unjustly, that he is nothing but a thief and a robber. And since the rich man is not the master of the wealth he possesses, it follows that, when accused of injustice before God, God removes him from his stewardship, either by death or by want…”

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