Gratitude

Over the next few weeks we will talk a great deal about money.  It is a topic we need to explore.  After all, Jesus said more about money than almost anything else. Thoughts about money consume our consciousness. Whether we are rich or poor, spenders or savers, we all think and talk about money—a lot.  To begin our conversation we need to begin at the beginning.  Gratitude.

Gratitude needs to come first.  As people of faith we are invited to discipline ourselves to express our gratitude at every opportunity. When prayers are answered, we give thanks. Sometimes when prayers are unanswered we also give thanks—as Garth Brooks taught us some years ago. When we experience success, like a promotion or a physical healing, we give thanks.  When God teaches us some valuable lesson regarding the faith, we give thanks. And if we remember to give thanks enough, pretty soon we realize that all good gifts come from God and we should be thankful and express our thankfulness.

Stewardship is the main work of the Church.  It is all we do with all we have all the time. It is paying close attention to the gifts God has given us—our intelligence, our education, our families, and our churches.  We must be clear how we invest those gifts for God’s use in the world and how we might pay forward some of our gifts to benefit others.

Are we slaves to our money or possessions?  Does our greatest happiness come from money or the things our money buys us?  We have become slaves to our possessions and our lives need to be re-oriented.  Our gratitude for God’s gifts needs to be reflected in how we use those gifts?  Our need to be gracious comes from the realization that we are the beneficiaries of God’s grace, mercy, and love. But, when we are slaves to our money and possessions we begin to feel entitled to God’s gifts.  Giving back to God as an expression of gratitude will help us break the stronghold our possessions have over us.  Too many of our possessions hold influence over our lives—making us slaves instead of Masters.

Next week:  How we participate in the healing of the world depends on the gratitude we have for the gifts God has entrusted with each of us.

Peace,
Father Mark+