Paul writes to Timothy that the root cause of all evil is 'love of money'. Now typically, everyone may pooh-pooh this assertion, as almost everyone loves money.
I can reconcile this issue, by perhaps asserting that it is when the love of money becomes a substitute for to love of God, that this situation arises. I find almost everybody desires money (wealth). The question is: does that become our end? Or is it a means, granted, a very important means at that? This is stated in another way, when Paul says: jealousy, contention, abuse and wicked mistrust of one another and unending disputes... come out when people are conceited and not keeping 'to the sound teaching ...of our Lord Jesus Christ' and 'imagine that religion is a way of making profit'.
When I read this, the current scenario of Syro-Malabar church (Zero-Jesus Church, as someone very aptly put it) comes to my mind. I find the leaders conceited, and the leadership, somehow, muddled by the matters of money, apparently on a quest for profit-making (perhaps, for the Church) by unfair means.
The issue is about the life skill of being contented - while making efforts to make our own and that of those dependent on us better (safe, comfortable), at each point, am I able to be happy with what I have, and manage my needs within that limit?
The prayer Jesus taught has clues for all this - give us this day our daily bread! We rely on the ultimate provider for our daily needs - the problem lies when humans keep on multiplying their needs - or feel not satisfied with their needs being met. So the skill lies in keeping our needs minimal, or deciding to be contented with meeting the needs with the means available. The desire and effort to go beyond the daily needs, which is the path of human progress, cannot be undermined. Maintaining the balance between being contented and striving to make things better is a tough task - a delicate one! That is the life skill one needs to acquire, that is also a great grace!
And Paul admonishes his readers: 'We bring nothing to this world and will not be able to take anything out of it'. However, I think we can reframe the statement, we will not be able to take anything out of it, except the merits of a good life or acts of kindness, compassion and goodness! The psalm 49 buttresses the same argument speaking about the vanity of riches - at his death the rich man will not take along anything; his glory will not go with him (49:18).
May the Lord grant the Christians the grace, individually and collectively as the Church, to listen to the teachings of Jesus and follow them.
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