« Novena to St. Thomas Day 1 | Main | Pope Linked to Murder »
September 17, 2006
The Middle Class, the Camel, and the Eye of a Needle
As I continue to be showered with material goods in commemoration of my birthday, I've thought a bit about my relationship with materialism.
I can't really claim to be rich or poor. I certainly don't make enough money to be wealthy, but I also have too much cool stuff to claim poverty. I suppose it's safe to say that I am middle-class.
It occurred to me that this might be the most spiritually dangerous economic situation to be in. Because I'm wealthy enough to have things, but not wealthy enough to simply buy whatever I want on sight, I am far more likely to covet things I can't afford and possessively overvalue things that I already own.
Had I unlimited resources, it would all simply be so much stuff, and none of it would be particularly dear to me. If something broke, I could just buy a new one. On the other hand, had I fewer resources, I wouldn't have anything to tie me down...and I wouldn't have anything to worry about breaking.
Sometimes, I'll justify my petty materialism with arguments like: "Well, it's not like I live in a mansion or drive an Expedition. People with those things are the really materialistic ones." But this, of course, is a gross fallacy. At least a person who is tempted by something with a big price tag has a good sense of taste. How much worse is it then when my materialism stems from cheap things?
Adam ate the fruit of knowledge of good and evil thinking he was gaining cosmic powers, but what would we think of him if he ate the apple just because he wanted an apple?
Posted by Peter Terp on September 17, 2006 at 03:45 PM | Permalink
TrackBack
TrackBack URL for this entry:
https://www.typepad.com/services/trackback/6a00d8341d0c4b53ef00d834e8956869e2
Listed below are links to weblogs that reference The Middle Class, the Camel, and the Eye of a Needle:
Comments
GKC points out that it is really quite hard to get more materialistic than the Incarnation. (pause for laughter)
But really - the beatitude says "poor in SPIRIT". I'm not a priest, and cannot give you authoritative statements, but the important distinction here is between hoarding and using such things - and using them for God's glory, and for the good of others, and yourself. Yes, even music, games, toys, as we humans do need to be able to relax!
Here's something perhaps a bit more helpful:
The paradox is expressed in another way in a short exchange between St. John of the Cross and St. Teresa of Avila. When offered some delicious grapes, St. John said, "If a person thought of the justice of God, he would never eat of these." St. Teresa retorted, "If a person thought of His goodness, he would never stop eating them."
Both positions must be considered. St. John was emphasizing the idea of self-denial, necessary to make reparation for sins. St. Teresa countered with another truth, the legitimate pleasure found in tasting good grapes. This sums up the idea of detachment that is always necessary, and of a God-centered return to created goods after the manner of St. Teresa.
[Robert Eimer, "Tilted Haloes"]
And if you DON'T relax, I will come to the defense, and ask lots of hard questions... er ... if I knew what it was you were defending. Hee hee.
Posted by: DoctorThursday | Sep 17, 2006 5:50:51 PM
I would say that all things considered I'm fairly relaxed. I think I was just in one of the those "Imitation of Christ" moods.(Obviously, I'm not planning on dropping all my cool stuff off at the local orphanage any time soon.)
There's actually a section of my dissertation on this where I describe how Henry V's self-proclaimed disdain for worldly goods actually comes off more like a spoiled brat's ingratitude.
Posted by: Peter Terp | Sep 18, 2006 8:23:23 AM
The comments to this entry are closed.