This is how the today’s reading from Saint James begins: “Come now, you rich, weep and wail over your impending miseries. Your wealth has rotted away, your clothes have become moth-eaten your gold and silver have corroded …” Wow, what strong words! Is Saint James telling us that money is evil and will destroy us in the end? No. He strongly rebukes those for whom money is their God. Through this reading, our Lord is asking us: “Am I your security and safety or is your money your security?” Is money our God or do we place our money in service of God and others?
How we use our money speaks volumes about what it is we love the most. Here’s a true story: a young woman from out of state came to ask my advice. She had been seriously dating a man for a while. They were beginning to talk about marriage but she was disturbed by a number of things that she saw in him. She told me that in all the time they had known each other he had hardly ever paid for her dinner when they went out, even though he makes a good living and she’s struggling. When they talk about the possibility of children he gets upset because children are very expensive. You see, he plans to retire early and every extra dollar goes toward this dream of his. When she buys presents for her family, he becomes upset because that kind of spending “just isn’t necessary”. She is generous with her many nieces and nephews, which bothers him because “there’s really not much they can do for us”. She loves him but wonders how much he really loves her.
I asked her this question: “How do we know what it is or who it is that we love the most?” She wasn’t sure so I responded: “When we want to know what it is that we love the most, we ask ourselves two questions. What do I think about the most? And to what do I attach the greatest importance?” She answered me: “Well he’s always thinking about saving money and it seems like it’s more important to him to keep to his budget than it is to make me happy. Father, what you’re telling me is that he loves his money more than he loves me.” To that I told her: “You really need to go to our good Lord in prayer and ask Him if this is the man that He has chosen for you to spend the rest of your life”.
How we use our money tells us a great deal about ourselves and what it is that we truly love. What we love will be reflected in what we spend our money upon. We have a great need to be generous with God and return to Him each month a tithe of what He has given to us. Why? Giving generously to God is a concrete sign that we love Him. Your tithing to Holy Trinity bears rich spiritual fruits for you because it is a constant sign to you that your first love is for God and His Church!
