Of God, money, and the study of Finance
Christianity puts emphasis on the importance of the “name”—it is not just a tag, but also an identity: a being, a meaning. It is not merely a coincidence that whenever a parable tells the story of a selfish, wealthy man, the narrator never mentions the person’s name. The parable usually ends with the reader not knowing who the “rich man” is. Compare such “________ and the rich man” parables with that of “________ and some generous person” stories. You’ll notice in the latter that the good person has a name—a personality to call his own. I will not be surprised if you are asking why I am giving such theological lecture. After all, I am supposed to be reflecting on the readings given. I will go into that in a little while. I am just giving you an idea on how the early Christians—if not Jesus Himself—distinguished the good men from those who were not. The parables tell the stories of people who are selfish and shrewd—these are not . . .
Finance, being a study of our cash flows, plays an important role in helping us to value our money. The Parable of Talents will lose its meaning if we practice Finance in a way that is offensive to our fellowmen. We must know how to value our money, but with certain care. I do not want to be a hypocrite if I say that money is of no importance to me. The lessons go beyond that, serving as warnings to us Christians. True, God wants me to nourish the talents he has given me—the talent, in this case, is knowing how to earn more money. We should not allow such love for money to compromise our morality and relationship with God. Many misconceptions are bound to arise. He should also learn how to nurture such talent in a manner that God would have wanted: morally, and for the good of others. Money is important—it is our mode of survival in these times. We turn away from God whenever we use such knowledge in order to evade our taxes or to fool others. But as I have said, the Parable of the Talents alone is not enough in such circumstance. Unless we live in a home where food is grown in trees, fields, or flocks of animals, we need money to satisfy our hunger. But from what I can see, the parables should be taken as one big picture—the stories by themselves are not enough to emphasize on how Finance should be treated in the Catholic approach.
Common topics in this essay:
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Acceptance Essays
