Religion

Spirituality and affluence

Sometimes I spend time thinking about life and what it means.  I’ve been pondering something for awhile and wanted to share it with you.  Can a person be spiritual and affluent at the same time?  Are they mutually exclusive?  Can one accumulate wealth and still be rich in spirit?   Some preach a prosperity gospel, arguing that wealth is a sign that one is blessed.  Others argue that the love of money is evil and that wealth creates the tendency to love money; therefore, wealth is something to be shunned.  Still others walk and talk in contradictory terms, arguing that focusing on wealth is wrong while they live prosperous lives.  (In fact, most Americans are far more affluent than the vast majority of people around the world.)  These beliefs cut across many faiths, not just Christianity.  Buddhism invites people to shun worldly possessions and seek spiritual enlightenment.  Islam forbids usury.  In Christianity, the belief that wealth and spirituality are incompatible is fueled by Bible verses such as Matthew 19:24, which says, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."  And by verses such as Matthew 6:24, which says "No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.”  And by Matthew 6:19-20, "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.” 

Is faith inherently incompatible with wealth?  I don’t think so.  While the pursuit of money can distract one from spiritual maturity (as can any number of distractions), I don’t believe that one has to live modestly or in poverty to be truly spiritual.  One should certainly tithe and/or give to charity as their faith and heart leads them.  However, a disorderly life marked by financial trouble, poverty, and any number of personal problems can significantly impact one’s faith.  When one does not tend to their personal affairs or mismanages them, they hurt their own spiritual growth.  It’s necessary to properly manage one’s personal affairs and seek spiritual growth.  They are not mutually exclusive.  Both should be managed well.  Wealth can be a byproduct of a life well managed.  A well managed life does not necessarily lead to wealth or spiritual maturity, but it definitely helps.  When one lives a certain lifestyle and does not have the foresight to look ahead to the day when their livelihood will be gone and prepare for it, their spiritual life will be negatively impacted because they will be forced to scramble to survive once their livelihood is gone. 

In practical terms, many Baby Boomers now face the prospect of living off Social Security when they retire because they did not have the foresight to plan ahead.  They do not even realize how fortunate they are that the government looks after them at all (so many people around the world do not have this benefit).  Social security substantially reduces one’s income after retirement, yet millions of Americans neglect to supplement their income with investments such as 401(k)s or IRAs.  Most fail to plan ahead for major illnesses by purchasing long-term health and life insurance.  One does not need to become wealthy to be spiritually blessed, and you won’t necessarily become wealthy by being blessed, but accumulating assets is prerequisite to survival.  Anything less reflects personal mismanagement that speaks ill of one’s character.  After all, who wants to listen to someone who talks of a spiritual life when they cannot manage their earthly affairs?  Strong words, I know, but truth can be a bitter medicine.

Rather than focus on wealth as an inherent evil, I prefer to recall the Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25:14-28.  It’s a great parable with a wonderful message.  Some would say that this only applies to spiritual matters, but I believe it’s applicable to life.  Each of us has been given talents.  Use them wisely.  Don’t bury them by investing them unwisely. 

    14"Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his property to them. 15To one he gave five talents of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. 16The man who had received the five talents went at once and put his money to work and gained five more. 17So also, the one with the two talents gained two more. 18But the man who had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.

    19"After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. 20The man who had received the five talents brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.’

    21"His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’

    22"The man with the two talents also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two talents; see, I have gained two more.’

    23"His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’

    24"Then the man who had received the one talent came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’

    26"His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? 27Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.

    28" ‘Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents. 29For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. 30And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

A Tribute to the Pope

Pope John Paul II (born Karol Jozef Wojtyla) passed away on Saturday, April 2 at 2:37 p.m. Eastern Time.  He was a wonderful man.  He was one of those great men one can admire regardless of political persuasion or religious belief.  More than anything he did, he was inspiring.  He inspired millions around the world to seek faith, social justice, moral values, and religious tolerance.  He gave hope to people.  After he was nearly assassinated in 1982, he recovered and went on to serve long thereafter.  He gave a voice to those who needed a voice, whether it was for the unborn or for the sake of peace.  His convictions transcended partisan politics.  The archbishop of Philadelphia said it well when he said, “Above all, he will be remembered for finding his purpose and holding fast to that purpose.”

Although I am not Catholic, I admired Pope John Paul II.  I am thankful I had a chance to see him in Vatican City many years ago during one of his weekly public addresses.  I’ll never forget it.  I didn’t understand what he said because the Polish, Italian, German and other languages he used were spoken with a thick Polish accent.  Nevertheless, it was very moving moment for me sitting in a holy place listening to this great man talking about something that transcends language.  I remember him standing at the altar above the tomb of St. Peter, addressing those who were gathered.  A few months later, I visited Krakow, Poland where the pope served bishop before his election in 1976.  I visited some of his old haunts.  I saw the cathedral where he was bishop and stayed for just $2 a night at a rectory in his diocese (I was a poor, starving student traveler at the time). 

In reflection, it is amazing when you realize that this man—the first Pole and the first non-Italian elected pope in hundreds of years, was chosen to serve as pope during the height of the Cold War.  At the time, Poland was a Warsaw Pact nation, a member of the Soviet Bloc, and officially an atheist nation.  Religious presecution was prevalent.  Wojtyla’s election then was a radical move by the Catholic Church.  It has sometimes been said that Pope John Paul II, like President Ronald Reagan, was instrumental in bringing down the Iron Curtain.  He inspired the faithful behind the Curtain to put their trust in something other than communism, and he may very well have been a guiding light to movements such as Solidarity in Poland that instigated the collapse of communism.

Pope John Paul II will be missed.  The Catholic Church has a huge task ahead of it choosing the next pope, and the next pope will bear a huge burden emerging from the shadow of Pope John Paul II.  I hope the next pope will be as great as Pope John Paul II was.  It is a daunting challenge.  God rest his soul.

Reflections on Easter

We ventured afield this morning to attend Easter services at an international (English-speaking) church near our home.  About 100 expatriates attended the service.  We were joined by another family we met in Washington, D.C. and spend a lot of time with here in Seoul.  Our son was one of the highlights of the service.  Towards the end of the service he broke away from us while we were sitting in a pew and started running towards the back of the sanctuary.  He yelled, "Yay!" during a moment of silent and the pastor blithely told the congregation, "We should all be saying ‘yay’ too because Easter is a happy day."  The congregation laughed.  We’re glad our son provided levity, not embarassment.  The service was good, and the pastor was good.  We haven’t been to church since we attended a large "big box" church in Virginia.  ("Big box" is a term of endearment for warehouse-size stores; I call large churches "big box" churches.)  We did not expect to find a good expat church here in Seoul, because it can be hard to find good churches overseas.  We were pleasantly surprised.  We plan to visit again.

Parking at the church was tricky because more people than usual came to church today (church attendance generally peaks during Christmas and Easter, Christianity’s two most important celebrations).  We had to double-park in the church’ lower garage because the upper lot was full.  When the service was over, I had to navigate our car around a concrete wall, gun the car backwards up the garage ramp past a brick gate, and back it into a narrow alley.  It was a bit nerve-wracking.  If I have to do that every Sunday, we may not drive our car to this church in the future.  Instead, we may park it in a nearby parking lot. 

We haven’t yet driven much in Korea, but we now know three important rules of the road here highlighted by our trip to church today:

  1. Find out whether your destination has parking before you drive.  Parking is at a premium in Seoul.
  2. When the light turns green at an intersection, look both ways first and proceed with caution.  Koreans will drive through red lights without hesitation.  On our way to church we waited 10 seconds after the light turned green to allow the red-lighters to pass.
  3. Don’t worry about cutting off the person behind or beside you–keep your eyes on the road in front of you and make sure you’re alert for the cars that will cut you off.  Be aggressive, but always yield to busses–they will hit you if you mess with them.

Our friends came over today for a traditional Easter dinner.  My wife baked ham and made mashed potatoes, gravy, and green bean casserole.  Our friends brought apple pie.  It was delicious!  I’m still stuffed.  They have a four-year old son who plays very well with our son.  It was fun to watch them run around in circles chasing each other.  They entertain each other for hours and left us adults alone so we could talk.  We really enjoyed it.  Easter was a lot of fun.