THE DANGER OF RICHES
ST. BERNARD, ABBOT, DOCTOR
Ezek. 28:1-10; Deut
32:26-28,30,35-36; Mt 19:23-30
It is impossible for a rich man to
enter Heaven
With
the departure of the young man who desired to possess eternal life and asked
our Lord how to attain his desired goal, Jesus started talking about the danger
of riches and the difficulty of a rich man making it to heaven. What is it
about riches or wealth that makes it dangerous? Riches and wealth are things
created by God and they are good by that fact. The value ascribed to these
things depends on the love and desires of each soul. When the love and desires
of many souls converge on these material things, they acquire values
accordingly, for it is by these love and desires that souls are attached to the
material things as to an end. Within the value system formed by the convergence
of desires of many souls, the one who acquires these valuable material things
assumes the power to do things or command forces that can bring about changes.
An example of this human and materially configured power and force to do things
is the king of Tyre, whose accumulation of gold made him assume the status of a
god. “Being swollen with pride, you have said: I am a god; I am sitting on the
throne of God, surrounded by the seas. Though you are a man and not a god, you
consider yourself the equal of God.”
This
ability to corrupt a soul is the evil in material riches and wealth. Because of
the ability, of the one who possesses an abundance of what many people desire,
to command them to do whatever he wants, the possession makes him feel
powerful. Possessing gold and silver in abundance through their skill in the
production of costly purple clothes
and trading made the king of Tyre feel power
like a god. His arrogance attracted the attention of God who permitted his
downfall and destruction. A false assumption of a divine power sets up an
opposition against the will of God. The power to enslave a soul comes to riches
or wealth from this false belief that one can do whatever he wants with an
abundance of wealth. The root of the problem of riches therefore lies in the
human will that is deceived by a false freedom to command desired change with
abundance of wealth. This was also the cause of the departure of the young man
when Jesus asked him to sell everything and come and follow him. He refused to
relinquish the false power or advantage that his possessions afforded him.
This
reluctance or refusal to relinquish whatever advantage or power we think we
have by what we possess is what bars a rich man from entering the kingdom of
heaven. To believe in God is to accept that God alone orders all things and
confers every authority and privilege to whomever he wants to give it. The
faithful soul, by believing and desiring God, establishes himself in the divine
order and acquires the life of God by the attachment of love. This is why our
Lord asked the man to sell everything, give away the proceeds, and then attach
himself to God. Those who attached themselves to God by love and desire
gradually live the life of God and acquire the divine authority to dispense of
this material wealth and riches. “I tell you solemnly, when all is made new and
the Son of Man sits on his throne of glory, you will yourselves sit on twelve
thrones to judge the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses,
brothers, sisters, father, mother, children or land for the sake of my name
will be repaid a hundred times over, and also inherit eternal life.” St.
Bernard is an example of a soul who abandoned the riches and wealth of this
world to embrace a monastic life of obedience. He was born in 1090 in Dijon,
France. He joined the Cistercian monastery with enthusiasm and grew in love of
God. He wrote many wonderful spiritual works. He abandoned everything to follow
Christ and got back more than he left. He founded many Cistercian monasteries.
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