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Avarice, love of money, the cult of material values—these are the scourges of our times. Our society is a society of consumption—consumption of material goods, pleasures, and entertainments. And every entertainment requires money. The cult of money has become so much a part of everyday life that the exchange rate is broadcast every hour on the radio along with the weather forecast as if it’s so important and necessary for everyone to know. It’s firmly hammered into people’s minds that without a lot of money, without riches, it’s impossible to be happy, that everything can be acquired only with money, and if you don’t have any, then you’re a failure. I’ve seen books like, How to Raise a Future Millionaire for sale, meaning they’re proposing to raise rich people from the cradle, already targeting infants for success—not how to raise an honest, kind, decent person, but how to raise a millionaire! Unhappy will be the man whose senseless parents train him from childhood and orient him towards success, a career, wealth. He’ll never find true happiness; he won’t find love or faith, because they can’t be bought.
Avarice, the service of material things, is idolatry in its purest form, the worship of the “golden calf” (although, of course, any passion is an idol): Ye cannot serve God and mammon (Mt. 6:24), that is, riches.
Why Is it Hard for a Rich Man to Be Saved?
Serving material goods especially leads a man away from spiritual values. His soul is replaced by something else and he becomes a materialist in the full sense of the word. Thoughts and concerns about earthly goods and values leave no room for the spiritual. That’s why it’s said that a rich man shall hardly enter into the Kingdom of Heaven (Mt. 19:23).
God needs a place in our hearts, to grab a hold of something in a man’s soul. Then the man can be helped. But if his heart and soul are occupied only with material things? That doesn’t mean it’s easy for a poor man to be saved. Poverty can also give rise to many vices: envy, self-love, despondency, grumbling, and so on. But the Gospel talks about the difficulties of salvation for the rich. And it’s clear that both Christ and the Apostles were very poor, having nowhere to lay their heads. There were many more poor Christians. Although there were also very rich men among the saints: Abraham, Kings David and Solomon, emperors, princes… Wealth in and of itself isn’t a sin–it’s all a matter of our attitude towards it. Nothing that the Lord gives us—talents, riches—is truly ours. We’re the stewards, the overseers of all of it, but it belongs to God. And we must not only return what was given to us, but return it with interest; we must multiply it, using these gifts to help others and save our souls.
But often that’s not the case, and material values occupy such a dominant position in men’s minds that they hardly even think about God, their souls, or others. It can be very hard for a believer to communicate with a worldly man, who only talks about earthly, material, things.
The Gospel has many parables—short stories—about rich men and wealth. Some of them speak about the correct attitude to riches, and some very vividly, figuratively show the madness of those who live only by earthly, corruptible values.
There’s a story in the Gospel of Luke: The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God (Lk. 12:16–21).
Commenting on this parable, St. John of Kronstadt as if asks the rich man: “Why are you acting foolishly, saying: ‘I have nowhere to put my fruits?’ What do you mean nowhere? Here are your granaries—the hands of the poor. Give the gifts of God’s goodness, given for many, to many poor people and receive forgiveness of sins and great mercy from the Lord for it. By doing so, you act in accordance with the will of God, for the Lord gives us in abundance to help the poor, for the merciful shall obtain mercy.”
This parable doesn’t condemn wealth at all, but rather the rich man’s attitude towards it. He spent his whole life carousing and having fun, and even when on the verge of death, he still didn’t understand why God gave him this wealth. It’s given for only one thing: to transform material treasure into spiritual, incorruptible treasure; to help those in need, do good deeds, beautify churches, and in general save your soul with the riches given to you. But for a rich man, all of this is oh so difficult. Life in abundance and luxury draws you in, making you insensitive to others’ pain. The problems and pain of the needy and destitute become impossibly remote. It’s hard for a man who has never experienced poverty or deprivation to understand the hungry. That’s why we have the Russian proverb, “The satiated man doesn’t understand the wants of the hungry.”
There’s another Gospel parable about this. There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented (Lk. 16:19–25).
Why did the rich man go to hell? After all, the Gospel doesn’t say he killed or robbed anyone to get his riches. But just think—he loved daily feasts. Plus, he was a believer; he knew Abraham and probably even read Holy Scripture. But apparently he had no good deeds, nothing with which to justify himself; everything that was given to him as a means of saving his soul was mindlessly wasted only on himself. “You’ve already gotten what you wanted!” Abraham says to him. All these years, Lazarus, a sick, hungry beggar lay right at the gates of the rich man’s house. The rich man even knew his name, but didn’t take any part in his fate, didn’t give him even the crumbs from his table. The rich man’s heart grew fat from wealth and luxury, and he no longer noticed the suffering of others.
For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also, says Christ (Mt. 6:21). The rich man’s heart belonged to an earthly treasure. His soul was filled only with service to bodily pleasures; it had no place for love of God and His creation—man. He made his choice here on earth: to live a spiritless life, to not think about his soul. A man can’t change anymore after death. If he didn’t need God here, he won’t be with Him there. It’s not the Lord Who punishes man, but man who condemns himself to torment. Heavenly life with the saints and communion with God would be more torturous for a sinner than the fires of hell.
I’ll give you an example that at least partially explains this idea. For a believer, prayer, festal and Sunday services, and fellowship with brothers in the faith bring joy. But try to make someone who is not only unaccustomed but also non-believing stand at a three-hour festal All-Night Vigil. He won’t make it half an hour—he’ll be restless and exhausted.
Once I was invited to serve a panikhida at a cemetery. The family was gathered, and when I was ready to start, suddenly nearly all of the relatives and friends, except for three old ladies, stepped a few yards away, turned their backs, and started smoking. I asked them not to smoke near the grave and to join in the memorial prayer, but they only moved further away and kept smoking. Furthermore, I noticed several bottles of alcohol and snacks by the grave. Apparently that’s the only part the young folk were interested in. But God doesn’t save anyone by force. Everyone chooses for himself to be with God or to be outside of Him.
Not to Harden Our Hearts
But still, there are only a few people like the rich men of the Gospel, since the majority of people are far from being rich. If these parables applied only to the rich, they wouldn’t be recorded in the Gospel. The Lord addresses all men in His parables, and that means He addresses us too.
It’s not only those who have great possessions who can live solely for earthly interests, without thinking about God and neglecting others. It’s just that a comfortable life is more inclined towards this. When a man has modest means, he may stop helping those in need, justifying himself by saying he needs to feed his family. There’s barely enough for himself, he says. Now, when everyone’s talking about an economic crisis, many are gripped by fear and anxiety for the coming day. And it’s very important for all of us now not to harden our hearts, like the rich man from the parable, to remember those Lazaruses who have it even worse than us. The Lord will never leave the merciful and generous without sustenance. There’s a wonderful principle, even a law, in the spiritual life: “The hand of the giver won’t be impoverished.” The Lord always abundantly rewards those who help others, even in earthly life. But this requires faith and determination, of course.
I have been young, and now indeed I am old, and I have not seen the righteous man forsaken, nor his seed begging bread. All the day long the righteous showeth mercy, and lendeth, and his seed shall be unto blessing (Ps. 36:25–26), says the Psalmist David. Of course, this doesn’t promise any great wealth and prosperity, but one thing is clear: A merciful man won’t be left without means of subsistence and all the necessities.
If spouses want to have many children (that is, they choose in favor of spiritual wealth), they will also never be left without God’s help. There’s a saying: “If God gave you a child, He’ll provide for the child.” One father of many children said that with every new child, the material welfare of their family not only didn’t decrease, but on the contrary, grew. God sends help to those with many children in a variety of ways. The Gospel says: Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your Heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the Kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you (Mt. 6:31–33). Christians with many children seek not a comfortable, idle life, but rather the Kingdom of God. They live not for themselves, but for their children. They raise and educate them, sparing no time or effort, and therefore the rest is added unto them.
We’re constantly being taught now that money can buy anything. You’re nobody without money, but if you’re rich, your options are limited only by the size of your bank account. But even the most primitive and earthly man can understand that money can’t buy everything. Love, friendship, loyalty, talent, a good name, and even health can’t be bought. Is it possible to be happy without these? Happiness is immaterial; it doesn’t depend on prosperity. For example, a poor man who’s happy in his family life, loved by all, and who is also loving is a hundred times happier than any rich man. The Gospel explicitly says: A man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth (Lk. 12:15). On the contrary, a large estate brings great worries and often sorrows.
Sometimes I have occasion to speak with the wives of “new Russians,” and how pitiful they seem! These young, strong women with higher educations spend all their free time on home improvement, constantly making repairs, arguing with the builders; all their thoughts are occupied with what furniture to buy, how to arrange it, where to hang paintings, and so on and so forth. A large estate requires constant care. And it takes the best years of your life. And how much money and effort it takes to protect wealth. Great wealth doesn’t so much gladden as it enslaves and forces you to serve yourself.
