Scripture readings for today's reflection can be found at Friday of the Twenty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time | USCCB
This saying, I’m sure, is very familiar to many
people. Many of us have probably heard only part of it: We have heard that money
is the root of all evils, instead of the full quote. It is the LOVE of money
that is the root of all evils.
In this reading from St. Paul’s letter to Timothy,
Paul is teaching us that our primary focus should not be on the things of this
world, but on love and service of God and of our neighbor. Paul is teaching
that money in and of itself is not evil, bur rather, the LOVE of money is the
root of all evil. Loving money, or anything else more than God, is a form of
idolatry. Money, clothes, material wealth, are all tools for us to live out our
lives in service of God and one another. Material wealth is not the end all of
our existence.
St. Paul is also teaching against arguments and verbal
disputes among the followers of Jesus Christ, which only lead to envy, rivalry,
insults, evil suspicions, and mutual friction among people with corrupted
minds. As followers of Jesus Christ, we are to not only have God as the center
of who we are as Christians, but we are to show love and respect for all
people. All this bickering amongst people shows selfishness and a lack of love and
respect towards those people in our lives that are made in the image of God. We
are not to imagine ourselves as being better or superior to anybody else. We
are to live in humble service to God and to our neighbor.
Paul goes on to teach us that we are to pursue
righteousness, devotion, faith, love, patience, and gentleness. By being
righteous, we are called to live out our lives according to the laws of God.
Further, we are to live out our lives with faith in God and are called to be
patent and gentle with all those in our lives. That’s not always easy, but it
is the thing that God expects us to do. Paul is reminding us that we are called
to follow what the Lord Jesus Christ has taught us: to love God with our whole
mind, heart and being and to love our neighbors as ourselves. These two great
commandments are central to the teachings of Jesus Christ and who we are as
Christians.
As we live out our day today, let us place all our
cares, concerns, and worries into the loving hands of God. Let us be opened to
His love for us. Let us not make anything or anyone more important to us than
our love for God and our neighbor. It is then that we can find that peace and serenity
that can only come from the loving hands of God.
YES, loving GOD above everyone & everything else, putting GOD at the center of everything in our lives, loving our neighbors as ourselves & striving to help others & live in peace with others to the extent that this is possible are all key elements of the Christian life & we can do these with the help & grace of GOD.
ReplyDeleteMoney in itself is not evil, but it is a tool to meet our basic necessities, to provide security,to provide a few simple luxuries & to help others & help promote the Kingdom of GOD. We can help avoid the "love of money"by acknowledging that our money & our ability to earn money = GOD'S gift to us & that all GOD'S gifts & blessings are given to us not to hoard for ourselves or to waste but to be shared for the good of others & the glory of GOD. So if we have been blessed & we encounter someone in need,sharing our blessing with someone who needs help is part of the reason why GOD has given us the blessing & we can help the person without hesitation.