There are plenty of things in our lives we can love more than God, including the money we don’t have.
The Root
Last week, we looked at the sin of pride. I want to spend this Lent looking at the 7 deadly sins, or the “capital” sins. These are the sins that lead to other areas of sin in our lives. Every way we choose against God has, at its root, one of these sins.
Why do we take the time to focus on sin? Not to become overly scrupulous, nor to torture ourselves. We should not get fixated on it, but we should examine the sin in our lives so that we can eradicate it. Sin makes us unhappy! Ultimately, if we want true joy, we want a relationship with God. So we need to take time to see what separates us from that relationship.
If we never take time to examine our actions and intentions, we can get caught in a rut of sin without even realizing it. Some sin, like pride, can remain in our lives hidden and masked by false humility. Or sometimes a certain sin is causing other sins. We might work to eliminate those surface sins without eradicating the root sin. And we all know what happens when you weed by only puling out the tops of the plants. The weeds come back with a vengeance, because they’ve actually never been eliminated!
When I look at my life, what do my choices tell me about where my love and attachment rests? Do I daily make decisions that come from a love of God? Or do I choose the things of this world over him?
Avarice is often defined as greed, and perhaps we occasionally write it off as the sin of Scrooge or King Midas rather than our own. I’m not sitting on piles of gold in my mansion, ignoring Lazarus at my door! (Luke 16:19–31). But where else might avarice be in my life?
Notice that Paul tells Timothy, “For the love of money is the root of all evils, and some people in their desire for it have strayed from the faith and have pierced themselves with many pains” (1 Tim 6:10). He does not say money is the root of evil, but the love of money. Because when you love money, you will serve that money. Jesus in the Gospel points out that we cannot have two masters. If we love money — and everything that means, power, comfort, possessions – we will live for money, not for God.
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:19–21).
The Catechism of the Catholic Church points out that avarice “originates in… idolatry” (CCC 2534). It is choosing riches, power, or the things of this world over God. Because we can only serve one master.
Again, it is not the things that are bad, but the attachment to the things. Are you filling your life with things? Or God?
It is not that we can’t have possessions, or work hard for a paycheck, or save money for retirement. It is not that we can’t live in a nice house or work for that promotion in our career. In fact, God wants you to use the talents and gifts he has given you to be successful!
But not at the expense of your relationship with him. Who–or what– is master of your life? God? Or that desire for the raise? The number in your bank account?
Examine
When we stop to look at our lives, do we see avarice at work there?
- Am I overly concerned about my own comfort and well-being?
- Am I resentful of my lack of money or resources?
- Am I generous with those in need?
- Do I waste money? Am I a good steward of what I have so that it lasts longer?
- Do we have a disordered and excessive desire to control persons, places, or things? the future? My life?
You do not need to be rich to commit the sin of avarice. There are plenty of things in our lives we can love more than God, including the money we don’t have.
Eradicate
How can we fight the sin of avarice? We fight a vice by practicing its opposite. Christ tells us that satisfaction comes not in amassing the things of this world, but in making our life a gift to others. The Cross is the opposite of avarice. What you have has been given to you by God as a gift. Now use that gift for others.
- Give alms with a cheerful heart.
- Fast! Every time I embrace some mortification in my life–a piece of the Cross–and intentionally offer that deprivation to God, I’m telling my body that I can choose God rather than the comfort of this life.
- Give time – whether it is to your spouse, your children, a colleague, a neighbor in need. Someone is going to come to you this week and require your time and for you to put your own plans aside. How are you going to respond to that request?
This week, let’s begin to root out the sin of avarice in our lives. But pray! It’s only possible with God’s help.
Image credit: Photo by Mathieu Stern on Unsplash
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