"JESUS BEGAN the most famous sermon ever preached saying: “Blessed are the poor in spirit...” A rich man becomes poor in spirit if he uses his wealth to care for others. A poor man is not poor in spirit if he wastes his salary getting drunk.
When Jesus exalted poverty, he was not promoting a life of begging on the streets. Nor did he want his disciples to live in slums. He was not praising the kind of poverty that feels like dirt and smells like sewage.
He did not praise the poor for being poor. He praised the poor in spirit. He did not praise poverty but the virtue of poverty.
Jesus wanted to lift the poor out of their poverty.
Jesus wanted to lift the poor out of their poverty.
In the parable about Lazarus, the rich man did not end up in hell for being rich; he was sent to the eternal fire because he did nothing to help a neighbour dying of hunger.
Jesus was asking his disciples to acquire habits necessary to live the way that he lived. He said that the “Son of Man has no where to lay his head.” But he also said that the “worker deserves his wages.”
He advised his disciples not to worry about food and clothing, but he ate like everyone else and wore a seamless garment.
St Paul said, “As long as we have food and clothing, let us be content with that.”
St Paul said, “As long as we have food and clothing, let us be content with that.”
It is not money itself that is evil but the anxiety for more and ever more money. “People who long to be rich are a prey to temptation; they get trapped into all sorts of foolish and dangerous ambitions which eventually plunge them into ruin and destruction.”
Spending money to make other people think you’re rich is a vice. If you want to be poor in spirit, start by overcoming the impulse to spend money just because you have money. Maybe you could use that money for someone in need.
Every time you’re about to make a purchase, even if it’s something small, ask yourself: “Do I really need to buy this now?” You’ll be amazed at the number of times you might comfortably survive a whole year without something you thought was absolutely necessary.
Eventually you’ll discover the secret of true poverty.
You’ll begin to ask: “What does my family need? What can I do to help others?”
Jesus promised to reward those willing to change and live this virtue. He said, “Theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” He opened our eyes to treasures that this world cannot offer – God’s love and life everlasting.
These treasures are only for those who overcome the tendency to be selfish with their money and their possessions."
Are you poor because it is your fate or because you want it.
Are you poor because it is your fate or because you want it.
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