lower the interest rate on my mortgage. I can consolidate my credit card debt. I can get a new credit card with a miniscule interest rate. I can get a cheaper insurance policy for my home, car or life. The opportunities, if you believe the direct mail that comes to your home, are endless.
At the same time there are countless businesses advertising that they can help us achieve financial security. They will help us invest money now, and plan for a luxurious retirement. These advertisements typically show pictures of people golfing, boating, traveling and otherwise enjoying themselves with little on their minds but income and freedom from responsibility.
I almost never get an offer from any organization offering to help me plan how to serve others with my money, time and possessions. Like everyone else I get plenty of requests for money from non-profit organizations, but there doesn't seem to be the same kind of industry in the financial world for charitable planning as there is for personal finance and savings. Why? Because by and large we all are much more concerned about taking care of ourselves than we are concerned about taking care of others.
In today's Gospel, Jesus tells a parable about a fellow who had come to be known as "The Rich Fool." This man enjoys a harvest so great that he can't store it all, so he decides, "I will pull down my grain bins and build larger ones….Then I will say to myself: You have blessings in reserve for years to come. Relax! Eat heartily, drink well. Enjoy yourself!"
This parable could have been scripted by Smith Barney. Most financial advisors tell you to do exactly as the Rich Fool did -- when blessed with excess, invest in your personal financial security. But the story takes a surprising turn. "But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life shall be required of you. To whom will all this pile-up wealth of yours go?'"
Jesus suggests that we should be just as concerned about taking care of others as we are about taking care of ourselves. This is a tall order.
I spend an awful lot of my time and energy taking care of myself. My inclination, on benefiting from a large windfall like the man in the parable, would probably also be to sock the excess away to "have blessings in reserve for years to come."
Saving for retirement may be the American way, but it is not necessarily the way of the Gospel. It may be more "wise" to plan for how to be generous to the neediest in our community than to take care of ourselves exclusively.
Jesus concludes the parable saying "That is the way it works with the man who grows rich for himself instead of growing rich in the sight of God." What does it mean to "grow rich in the sight of God? Well, it definitely doesn't mean that the more we receive, the more we store away to secure our own future. We are called share, and to share lavishly. Jesus suggests we acknowledge that, contrary to the teaching of our society, money is not the ultimate source of security. God is the ultimate source of security.
Perhaps someday I'll receive a direct mail piece offering to help me plan for a lifetime of generosity to the poor. In the meantime, the teachings of Jesus Christ are the best guide available. Bill Peatman writes from Napa.
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