Podcasts

God and mammon

Published on: by Joe Galloway Comment

Does having more money and owning more property make you feel secure? Do you rely on your education, your skills and abilities to pave the way to more prosperity? Is this not trusting more in yourself and your wealth – in other words – in mammon, than in God? Jesus tells us in Luke 16 that we cannot serve both God and mammon.

What is “Mammon?” It is the god-like term for wealth, riches, and material possessions. Jesus uses the term to personify wealth as a rival master to God. Mammon today is materialism, consumerism, and greed. It has the power to draw us away from God. It is a disease. How do you treat this disease? How can you put mammon in its proper place? 

In a word–Generosity. Generosity is the medicine that cures the disease of worldly desire and greed. Giving frees us from being slaves to mammon. Obedience to God’s commands to give of our first fruits is our intentional acknowledgement of His authority in our life. He is entitled to honor and respect. His Divine Lordship over every facet of our life, including our money, is not a threat, but a place of safety and security. 

The sugar that helps this medicine go down is gratitude. Be grateful to God for all the gifts He gives you. He is the source and origin of all you are and all you have. He is the one who gives you the ability, the education, and the skills to acquire wealth (Dt. 8:18). Giving expresses our gratitude for all the blessings God gives to us.  

Another sweetener to help ease the medicine is to think of money as a tool to bring you closer to Christ. The catechism teaches us this very tenet. In CCC 226 it says that anything that is not God is to be used only insofar as it brings us closer to God.

How can money be that kind of tool? How can money help us to grow closer to God. By giving. Giving to supply the needs of the poor is the manifestation of our trust and faith in God to provide. Almsgiving is an act of praise and worship. This is what gives us a sense of purpose and meaning. It is generosity that brings us the joy and satisfaction we seek for our lives, not another golf club or pair of jeans.  

We know that God is to be our master. He is to be first in our lives. We are to seek and serve Him and not mammon. We do that when we give first. So give and gain the peace that you seek in your life.

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The Cost of Discipleship

Published on: by Joe Galloway Comment

Who would begin to build a house without first figuring out how much it’s gonna cost? No one would do that. It’s the same with discipleship. Do you really want to be a disciple of Jesus Christ? If so, what is the cost of discipleship?

Discipleship is a serious decision. Jesus tells us plainly what the cost of discipleship is in Luke 14:26-33: Hate your parents and children;  Carry your own cross; Renounce all your possessions. This is serious stuff. 

Now I’m counting on all the Bible commentaries to be right when they explain that this is hyperbole. But still, mature discipleship asks something of us. What is that, what is the cost? In short–everything. The cost of discipleship is to put God first ahead of everything else in our lives: family, work, aspirations, worries, self! In practical terms, what does that look like?

Pray first. Praying first puts God first. Pray before all events and activities and all of the time. Give first. Make giving the first category of expenses in your budget. Surrender your ego and, in utmost humility, accept that He gives us everything. Then in overwhelming gratitude for His gifts, give out of love and justice for our neighbors in need. Give generously and courageously. Give and trust that God will provide. This cost of trusting God comes under the “detachment” column. We must be detached from our possessions so that God can be first. 

St. Oscar Romero challenges us with this, “A gospel that doesn’t unsettle, a word of God that doesn’t get under anyone’s’ skin—what gospel is that?” This Gospel passage in Luke does exactly that. Will you embrace the message and pay the cost to be a disciple of Jesus? 

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It’s Hard to be Humble

Published on: by Joe Galloway Comment

Do you find that it’s hard to be humbe? Are you like Mac Davis and crow about how you’re perfect in everyway? Ha! I bet not. And good thing – Jesus tells us in Luke 14:11 “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Giving as the first category of spending in the budget intentionally humbles ourselves before God and puts Him first – ahead of everything else. It is humbly acknowledging Him as the source and provider of all we have. It is how we show deference and respect for His authority in our lives.

The Old Testament philosopher Ben Sira gives us great advice about humility: 

My son, conduct your affairs with humility, and you will be loved more than a giver of gifts. Humble yourself the more, the greater you are, and you will find mercy in the sight of God. For great is the power of the Lord; by the humble he is glorified. (Sirach 3:17-20)

The Church teaches that we are to give sacrificially – just at the edge of what we think we can afford. Giving sacrificially is putting our budget in the lowest seat at the banquet, the advice Jesus gives us in verse 10. It is our admission of being dependent on God. It is our humble trust that He will provide what we need. It is a strong statement of our gratitude for all of the blessings He gives us. 

So, in overwhelming gratitude and utmost humility, give sacrificially.                                                                                                               

                                                                                                                                                                                               Photo Credit: Robert Davis

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Does Giving Cause Pain?

Published on: by Joe Galloway Comment

In Hebrews 12:11 it says,  “At the time, all discipline seems a cause not for joy but for pain.” Is giving a cause for pain? Giving, especially when we give as God calls us to give, as the Church teaches – sacrificially, can seem to be a cause for pain. We worry almsgiving will be painful as it will probably force us to give up spending on things and activities that are more fun and enjoyable. 

Discipleship calls for us to be disciplined in our giving. Budgeting requires discipline. Most of us think of budgeting as a painful exercise that can feel like drudgery. But, think of budgeting as a conversation – a heart-to-heart between you and your spouse, and you and God. Talk through your plans for spending the resources God provides. And in that, determine how much of those resources will go to almsgiving. 

Tithing imposes disciplined priority in your budget. It is your positive declaration that like Joshua, you will serve the Lord (Josh 24:15). Attitude, the desire to want to give, the willingness to detach from the desire for more stuff are integral to the process. Prepare a budget with tithing as the first spending item and see what happens. 

Generosity is the salve that eases the pain of financial worries.The passage in Hebrews 12 goes on to say that discipline eventually brings the peaceful fruit of righteousness. The discipline of Giving sacrificially is your intentional acknowledgment of God’s authority in your life. Giving to causes you care about brings meaning and purpose to your life. Giving brings you joy!

Photo Credit: Robert Davis

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Peace on Earth

Published on: by Joe Galloway Comment

Peace. Isn’t that one of the main things we all want in our life, sometimes, desperately so? Peace, peace of mind, less worry and stress. But in Luke 12:51, we’re thrown a curve ball. Jesus says, “Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division.”

Peace on earth is most often thought to be the absence of conflict, the lack of hostilities, no war. In our personal lives, we often think that having material wealth will bring us peace and reduce our stress. And money may bring a sense of peace in the moment. But that is the world’s peace. We know that peace is fleeting.  

Now I know from my work with clients that planning is important. While we certainly should be thoughtful about providing for our needs today and in the future. The most important need for the future – the main thing I talked about last week – is our eternal life in heaven! Jesus gives us the best financial planning advice to obtain eternal life:

Earlier in Luke, verses 33 and 34, He advises to sell your belongings and give alms so that you’ll have inexhaustible treasure in heaven, because where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.

He said this in Matthew 19:21, too: “If you wish to be perfect, sell what you have and give to [the] poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

This is Jesus’s way to peace. This is how good stewards manage their financial life. When we step out in faith, trust God to provide, and give to the poor, it causes us to prioritize our spending. Making almsgiving as our first priority is seeking God first with our finances. A mindset of generosity is the pathway to peace, the peace beyond understanding. 

So, Put God First. Give alms and gain that sense of peace that you truly seek. 

            “But as to what is within, give alms, and behold, everything will be clean for you,”—St. Luke (11:41) 

                                                                                                                                                                                           Photo Credit: Robert Davis

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