Covert Yourself Before The World - New Evangelizers

I was recently in a conversation with someone who said that the billionaires of the world like Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates could be saving so many lives if they gave up their massive fortunes towards acts of charity. The argument was that because they had the power to help people with their wealth but did not, they were immoral.

The question I asked this person was a simple one: “Couldn’t you use your money to save lives?”

Someone once said of socialism that it never works out because eventually you run out of other people’s money. The key sentiment in this phrase is that this ideology always seeks to use the wealth of others to relieve the problems of the world. If only the super-rich would stop being super-rich, then the world would be paradise.

Now, to be clear, Christ always warns against riches. He says in the Gospels that it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of the needle than for a rich person to get into heaven (Mark 10:25). The are several parables, like that of The Rich Man and Lazarus, that point out spiritual dangers of ignoring the plight of the poor. Paul writes “The love of money is the root of all evil.” (1 Timothy 6:10)

I think it would be dangerous to dismiss these words of Scripture as merely lofty ideals by which we should strive and not challenges to our generosity in the here and now. Should the wealthy give to the poor? Absolutely.

But the issue at hand is how this applies to me. Should I give my wealth to the poor? And the answer is the same.

Now, you may say to yourself that you are not wealthy. But is this true?

In the eyes of many in the world, you may be wealthy. If you own a smartphone, you have more disposable income than millions. Heck, if you have eaten today, you are wealthier than so many of our brothers and sisters on the planet.

I am not saying this to make you feel guilty. My point is that each of us has the power to give more. All of us could be more generous, caring, compassionate, patient, honest, faithful, and loving. Are we living the way we are prescribing others to live?

None of us are perfect and we are all sinners who will fall short. Parents work hard at instilling virtues in their children that they themselves struggle with. We need to speak the truth of the moral life. But that word will have much greater effect if we use it on ourselves first.

I tell this story in the beginning not to point out the other person’s hypocrisy. I told it because it made me think of my own. I pointed out to her how she was not living the ideal while criticizing others. And yet I know the same is true for myself.

At the same time, it is true that her argument would be much more effective if she was living the generosity that she wanted from the billionaires. In the same way, kindness, compassion, faith, humility, patience, and the like would be much more convincing coming from me if I live these virtues.

Like all of you, this is a daily struggle for me. But I need to conquer myself before I can conquer the world. This is what people saw in the great saints like Francis of Assisi and Mother Teresa: people who went all in on their ideals and lived them with everything that they had. As a result, they inspire millions and conquered countless hearts for Christ.

The good news for us is that though we are too weak to conquer ourselves, we don’t have to fight on our own. God is stronger than any of my sins. In the end, I don’t have to fight. What I have to do is surrender. If I surrender fully to Him, then He will conquer my heart.

And when that happens, we will conquer the world.

Copyright 2021, WL Grayson

W.L. Grayson

I am a devoutly Catholic theology teacher who loves a popular culture that often, quite frankly, hates me. I grew up absorbing every movie, TV show, comic book, science fiction novel, etc. I could find. As of today I’ve watched over 2100 movies and tv shows. They take up a huge part of my life. I don’t know that this is a good thing, but it has given me a common vocabulary to draw from in order to illustrate whatever theological point I make in class. I’ve used American Pie the song to explain the Book of Revelation (I’ll post on this some time later) and American Pie the movie to help explain Eucharist (don’t ask). The point is that the popular culture is popular for a reason. It is woven into the fabric of our lives and imaginations, for good or ill. In this blog I will attempt to bring together the things of heaven with the things of earth. Of course this goal may be too lofty for someone like me.