A Material Witness

Acts 4:32-35

They felt that what they owned was not their own, so they shared everything they had. (Acts 4:32)

MONASTIC ORDERS IN THE Middle Ages faced a paradox. Many had seen the dangers of greed, not only from a growing merchant class but also in the ruling clergy. So they fled the temptations of money by devoting themselves to lives of prayer and the simplicity of owning nothing. But in doing so, they drew the admiration of donors as well as the interest of those who wanted to make a contribution to their order in return for personal prayers. The money they ran from now flowed into their communities. One of their biggest conundrums was how to manage the excesses of worldly wealth.

For different reasons, we face that conundrum too. We live in an age of capitalist consumerism, an entirely different economy with far greater temptations. Many Christians are so immersed in their lifestyle that they are not even aware of the conundrum—or of the centuries of teaching from Jewish and Christian writings, and especially of Jesus, about stewardship, greed, and money’s corrupting influences. Money isn’t evil, of course—even the monks knew that—but the desire for it easily becomes so. The more we insist that the real issue is idolatry and attachment, even while clinging tightly to our wealth, the more we imply we might have a problem.

One of the signs of the Spirit’s presence after Pentecost was a willingness to share generously with those who had come to Jerusalem for the feast. Many Jewish pilgrims who saw what the Holy Spirit was doing could not bring themselves to leave the city. The local believers freely used their possessions for exceptional hospitality in an extraordinary time. While most of us have learned that it is possible to be extremely godly and generous with material prosperity, many of us have not yet found the balance or realized that the way we use money makes a statement to those around us. But it does. More than our words, it preaches a message about our values, our priorities, and our compassion. It points to our sense of union with others and our relationship with God. It reveals how we invest in his Kingdom.

{Jesus, you made it clear that for such a material good, money has huge spiritual implications. I cannot serve two masters; may I always serve you with the things I have and demonstrate with them my values and loves. Amen.