Guideposts – August 2019

18 GUIDEPOSTS (^) | August 2019
that everything would work out for
the best. But I knew you couldn’t just
ignore the problem. Doing that would
only make things worse.
Trying to iron things out, I stumbled
onto my current career. Not only did I
help the brothers, but I started counsel-
ing some of our guests. In the process,
I came up with a few rules about mam-
mon—for monks and everyone else.
Prayer needs to lead to action. Giving
everything to God doesn’t mean dump-
ing our responsibilities into his lap.
God shows us how to live, but he can’t
do the living for us. Praying for the bills
to get paid without taking financial ac-
tion is a guaranteed path to ruin.
One of the hardest truths for the
brothers to face was the reality that
God was not going to bail them out. It
didn’t matter that we lived a life of love,
service and self-sacrifice, doing good in
the world. Our creditors wanted their
money—with serious interest.
I went to the bookstore and bought
everything I could find on personal
finance. The depth of my ignorance
shocked me. I had grown up around
money. My dad was a CEO, and my
mom was a certified financial planner,
but I hadn’t learned much from them.
After their divorce, my parents used
money as a weapon, arguing about who
was supposed to pay for what. At one
point, they nearly defaulted on my col-
lege tuition. Having too much money
seemed to be the root of the problem,
so I took a vow of poverty, only to find
out that having too little money was
also a problem. Which leads me to my
next rule.
Develop a healthy relationship with
money. No one can serve two masters.
As Jesus said, “Either you will hate
the one and love the other, or you will
be devoted to the one and despise the
other. You cannot serve both God and
money.” But here’s the cool trick: You
can make money serve God.
When I look at the verses in the Bible
about the dangers of loving money, it’s
the Greek word philargyria they use.
That literally means “love of silver.”
For a healthy relationship with money,
think about the word agape, or divine
love, instead—selfless love devoted to
the service of others. You don’t have
to hate money. Just use it—and love
it—properly. It can help you put your
values in action.
To instill gratitude in my finan-
cial life, I started a practice of saying
thanks every time I gave or received
money, especially when writing a
check to a worthy cause. It’s hard to
do when paying a bill, but it helps me
be grateful that I can pay my bills. I
also use this practice when I’m shop-
ping. I want to be sure everything I buy
aligns with my goals and values. I need
to master money so that it doesn’t be-
come my master.
Say a prayer every time you use
money, and money will never come
before God.
Get help. Visitors to the monastery
would pour out their troubles at our
BUDGET WISE