Is money the problem or part of the solution?

The banking crisis of this past spring raised the specter of another large-scale financial meltdown. The memory of the Great Recession still casts a shadow that stretches forward to the present day. 

Behind that shadow, questions linger regarding the pursuit of wealth and its relationship to virtue and the common good. Critics cite the role of greed and its tendency to generate instability and inequity. Defenders of the market economy are often quick to point out that risk capital creates wealth and generates jobs, which, in turn, produces more wealth and opportunity. A former CEO of Goldman Sachs once famously explained to the London Sunday Times that this “virtuous cycle” in which firms like his participate was simply one way of “doing God’s work.” 

Who is right? Is money the source of trouble or the solution to problems? 

The conflict between God and mammon is a popular theme in the Bible. Scripture appears to place them in competition. Perhaps the tension arises from similarities between the two that are too obvious to ignore. Each, for instance, offers peace of mind by providing security against the uncertainty that the future holds. 

Even news and entertainment reflect the rivalry. Media outlets devoted to each vie for the attention of the masses. God has His EWTN, and money has its CNBC. 

And the parallels do not stop there. Both promise a type of freedom. Money offers freedom from restraint. It allows one to engage in pursuits and entertain possibilities otherwise unavailable. God offers freedom as well, but of a different kind. What God offers is the freedom from becoming one’s own worst enemy. 

The risk is that money and the freedom it offers often wind up leading to an obsession that, while purporting to provide control, ultimately absorbs the person. Money provides God’s children the chance to play god while lacking the equipment to occupy the role. 

Consider the rich young man in the Gospel. He is not free to follow Christ’s invitation. Instead, his wealth binds him, and he lacks the freedom to choose his own good. 

Practically though, it would seem that no one can do without both God and mammon. Is it better then to have more money to be free of worry in order to concentrate on God, or less money to avoid even caring about things other than God to begin with? 

The temptation is to seek a balance, a balance between worthy financial pursuits and religious devotion. There is, however, another alternative. 

The solution lies not in a balance, but in an order. Money must be used not in competition with God, but as an instrument of union with God. To further this union, each application of financial resources must move one closer to the freedom from self-bondage that God is offering. 

Exercise of this goal requires scrutiny of each investment or expenditure. Questions that probe why one is investing or spending in this or that way, and whether doing so leads to closer union with God, are worth asking. Sometimes this inquiry leads to further questions. While no science governing this task exists, divine assistance is assured to those who act with genuine motivation. 

Wealth has the power to cause crises. Those of a financial variety, however, are not its greatest threat. A spiritual catastrophe, born of the bond of wealth, is the root of far greater harm.