OCTOBER 8th, 2012
GOD AND MONEY
Recently
I have been exposed
To some selfish experiences
In regard to
People and their money
One such experience
Involved a man I met at church
This man road me home from church
A few times
Each time
He said he didn’t have any gas
So each time-I gave him $5
After knowing this man
For a little over a month
I received a call
Asking me if I could borrow $60
He said they were going
To shut off his phone
And his livelihood
Depended on him having a phone
I had my reservations
But I thought about our Lord
And asked myself
What he would do
I told him to drive down
And I wrote him a check for $60
He did –and I did
When he picked up the money
He explained to me
That he was a man of
his word
And would pay me back on Tuesday
When Tuesday came
He called me
And asked me for my bank account numbers
So he could put the money
In my account
Of course
I did not give him my account numbers
I gave him my address instead
And told him to mail me the money
Of course
I never heard from him again
I think about him and pray for him
I am not bitter
I know
I only did
What our Lord would want me to do
Then there was the story
Of a young man
Who broke into Saint
John’s Catholic Church
And used a crucifix to jimmy the
lock
And steal the money
From the cash box
What is sad
Is that the church
Said that they would have helped him
Had he just asked
I believe they would have
I believe most churches would
Where is this world
Heading with my its greed
I asked myself
What did Jesus teach about money
We all know his teaching on
tithing
( GIVING 10% to the church )
But what else
Did Jesus teach about money
In Luke’s
gospel-Luke 12-13
Jesus talks
about a rich fool
He talks about
a rich man
Who produced a
great crop
But had nowhere
to store his crops
He talks about
how this rich man says to himself,
“This is what I
will do
I will tear
down my barn
And build
bigger ones
And there I
will store my grain and food
And I’ll say to
myself
“You have
plenty of good thins
Laid up for
many years
Take life easy
Eat-drink-and
be merry”
Jesus says
This man is a
fool
Because that
very night
God will demand
his life back
And he will die
Jesus goes on
to say
This is how it
will be with anyone
Who stores up
things for himself
But is not rich
toward God
And in Luke 16
Jesus tells the
story
Of a rich man
and Lazarus-a beggar
At the rich
man’s gate
Lazarus laid
and begged for food every day
The rich man
Never shared
anything with Lazarus
Eventually-the
beggar died
And the angels
came
And took him to
Abraham’s side
But the rich
man died too
And was taken
to hell
Where he was in
torment
The rich man
Pleaded with
Abraham
To have pity on
him
And let Lazarus
dip the tip
Of his finger
in water
And cool the
rich man’s tongue
Abraham replied
That in he rich
man’s previous life
He had
everything
And Lazarus had
nothing
So Abraham said
no
An in Luke 21
Jesus talks
about the poor widow’s offering
Of two small
copper coins
Being greater
Than what all
the rich people were giving
At the temple
Jesus said,
“The poor widow
Has put in more
than all the others
All these
people
Gave their
gifts out of their wealth
But she out of
her poverty
Put in all she
had to live on”
And in Matthew
19:24-Jesus said,
“I tell you the
truth
It is hard for
a rich man
To enter the
kingdom of heaven
Again I tell
you
It is easier
for a camel
To pass through
the eye of a needle
Than for a rich
man
To enter the
kingdom of heaven”
A few months
ago I lost my mother
She had nothing
of material value
Of this world
But at the end
of her life
She was
surrounded
By people who loved
her
She told me
once
That 40 people
had lived
In our home for
30 days or more
I am here to
tell you
That that was
true
But my mother
and my father
Gave everything
they had
FOR OTHERS
They were rich
in love
I heard a
Protestant minister say once
“I have been
with many people
As they were
dying
Not one ever
said,
“I wish I would
have made another $million
They all
inevitably say,
I wish I would
have loved my spouse more
I wish I would
have spent more time
with my spouse,
my children, etc….
I made a
deathbed promise many years ago
“To live for my
family, my friends,
And for all
people everywhere”
I have nothing
of material value
In this world
But like my
mother and my father
I have done my
best
To share what I
do have
My point is
this: LET LOVE AND COMPASSION
Be your motivating
force---NOT money
Robert P.
Wallman
July 6th,
2012
Ps Today is the feast of OUR LADY OF GOOD
REMEDY
800 years ago
Christians were being captured by Muslims
And sold into slavery
Saint John Matha founded the
Trinitarians
He needed large amounts of money
To free the slaves
He prayed to MARY-the BLESSED MOTHER
For money for this cause
His prayers were answered
So be honored Mary by giving her the
title
OF OUR LADY OF GOOD REMEDY-today
October 8th-is the feast day
