What Does The Catholic Church Believe About Money?<\\/h3>\\n Does the Church teach that money is bad and is the root of all evils?<\\/strong> Why then is the Church so concerned about raising funds and asking donations from people? What is the Church\\u2019s real stance about money and worldly riches?<\\/em><\\/p>\\n

{"id":3695,"date":"2024-03-20T08:24:02","date_gmt":"2024-03-20T00:24:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/beloved\/?p=3695"},"modified":"2024-03-08T10:25:24","modified_gmt":"2024-03-08T02:25:24","slug":"what-is-the-churchs-true-teaching-about-money","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/beloved\/2024\/03\/what-is-the-churchs-true-teaching-about-money\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is the Church\u2019s True Teaching About Money?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

"The

Image from Canva Pro<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

What Does The Catholic Church Believe About Money?<\/h3>\n Does the Church teach that money is bad and is the root of all evils?<\/strong> Why then is the Church so concerned about raising funds and asking donations from people? What is the Church\u2019s real stance about money and worldly riches?<\/em><\/p>\n

Money as the Root of All Evils<\/h3>\n Following are some of the Bible verses that stand out when it comes to the point of view that money is evil in itself:<\/p>\n " \u201cFor 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.\u201d \u2013 1 Timothy 6:10 (NABRE)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n \u201cNo one can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.\u201d \u2013 Matthew 6:24 (NABRE)<\/em><\/p>\n " \u201cChildren, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.\u201d \u2013 Mark 10:24 (NRSVCE)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Whenever we hear these words being preached, our perception that money is bad and is not compatible with the spiritual life is reinforced.<\/p>\n As a result, we may feel guilty being rich.<\/strong> We may also feel that there is no point in trying to earn more since money can eventually lead to our ruin. Whoever wants to be condemned that one has worshiped money rather than God?<\/p>\n With these things in mind, we form a perception that money is something evil, a temptation that we must avoid at all costs.<\/p>\n Meeting Our Needs and Helping the Church<\/h3>\n The conflict arises when we consider our day to day needs as well as the needs of the Church.<\/em><\/p>\n If we don\u2019t have money, we can\u2019t feed our family.<\/strong> We can\u2019t give our children a good education. We can also fail to support the Church\u2019s many needs.<\/p>\n How many people do we see around us that need our financial help?<\/em> <\/strong>We see beggars in the streets without anything to eat or wear. We see so many people who are sick without having enough money for their medical needs. We see people cramped in poor dwellings, unable to afford a better place for their family.<\/p>\n If money is bad, then why is it needed so we can provide our neighbors with so much good?<\/p>\n Even the Church has an unending need for money.<\/strong> We see donation boxes everywhere, multiple collections for various needs and even fund raising events to finance its many programs. Without money, can the Church even maintain its facilities? How many Church buildings have been turned into pubs because they could no longer be maintained?<\/p>\n The Real Trap of Riches<\/h3>\n We should realize that the substance of the Church\u2019s teaching is not that money is bad.<\/strong> What\u2019s bad is the love of money and the greed that ensnares those who strive for it as their foremost goal in life.<\/p>\n " \u201cThose who want to be rich are falling into temptation and into a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires, which plunge them into ruin and destruction.\u201d 1 Timothy 6:9 (NABRE)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n \u201cTake care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one\u2019s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.\u201d \u2013 Luke 12:15 (NRSVCE)<\/strong><\/p>\n Our priority should always be God\u2019s kingdom, not earthly riches. But that doesn\u2019t mean we should never use money to do something good.<\/p>\n In truth, we should use our time and effort to make the most of the resources we have. We are not told to be lazy but to be diligent so that we can make a decent living for ourselves and for our loved ones.<\/p>\n \u201c\u2026whoever does not provide for relatives, and especially for family members, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.\u201d \u2013 1 Timothy 5:8 (NRSVCE)<\/em><\/p>\n " \u201cA slack hand causes poverty, \nbut the hand of the diligent makes rich. \nA child who gathers in summer is prudent, \nbut a child who sleeps in harvest brings shame.\u201d \n\u2013 Proverbs 10:4-5 (NRSVCE)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Final Thoughts on Money and Riches<\/h3>\n We should never come to the point of being too focused on earning money that we forget about the things of God. Money should never be worshiped.<\/strong> It should not be allowed to fill our souls with greed.<\/p>\n On the other hand, we must not disregard money as though it isn\u2019t needed in our earthly life.<\/em> <\/strong>We should earn it honestly, work for it diligently and use it responsibly, always keeping in mind the needs of the Church and our neighbors.<\/p>\n " \u201c\u2026give me neither poverty nor riches; \nfeed me with the food that I need, \nor I shall be full, and deny you, \nand say, \u201cWho is the Lord?\u201d \nor I shall be poor, and steal, \nand profane the name of my God.\u201d \n\u2013 Proverbs 30:8-9 (NRSVCE)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n \n Jocelyn Soriano<\/em> writes about relationships and the Catholic faith at \u201cSingle Catholic Writer\u201d<\/a>. She wrote the books To Love an Invisible God<\/strong><\/a>, Defending My Catholic Faith<\/strong><\/a> and Questions to God.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n Get the book from Amazon.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Get my books from other digital stores.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n You may also want to read \u201cWhy It Makes Sense To Give Until It Hurts\u201d.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" What Does The Catholic Church Believe About Money? Does the Church teach that money is bad and is the root of all evils? Why then is the Church so concerned about raising funds and asking donations from people? What is the Church\u2019s real stance about money and worldly riches? Money as the Root of All […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4905,"featured_media":3701,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[510],"tags":[629,680,513,677,516],"class_list":["post-3695","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-wealth-management","tag-generosity","tag-greed","tag-money","tag-riches","tag-wealth"],"yoast_head":"\nWhat Is the Church\u2019s True Teaching About Money?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Does the Church teach that money is bad and is the root of all evils? 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