How to manage your wealth, according to St. Basil

Managing the monetary blessings you have received can be a challenge, especially with all the temptations in the world.

Sometimes it can be more difficult to be a Christian when you have plenty of money and have all of your basic needs met.

St. Basil had his own thoughts about how to manage wealth in a sermon that is featured in the Church’s Office of Readings.

A different kind of interest

While giving to the poor can seem like a fruitless endeavor, St. Basil argues that you will receive a different kind of interest:

The earth bears crops for your benefit, not for its own, but when you give to the poor, you are bearing fruit which you will gather in for yourself, since the reward for good deeds goes to those who perform them. Give to a hungry man, and what you give becomes yours, and indeed it returns to you with interest. As the sower profits from wheat that falls onto the ground, so will you profit greatly in the world to come from the bread that you place before a hungry man. Your husbandry must be the sowing of heavenly seed: Sow integrity for yourselves,says Scripture

St. Basil also points out that when you die, you will need to leave behind your money, and how you used it will impact your eternity:

You are going to leave your money behind you here whether you wish to or not. On the other hand, you will take with you to the Lord the honor that you have won through good works. In the presence of the universal judge, all the people will surround you, acclaim you as a public benefactor, and tell of your generosity and kindness.

Last of all, St. Basil warns against using your money too much for earthly pleasures, acknowledging the reality that they only last for a short time:

Do you not see how people throw away their wealth on theatrical performances, boxing contests, mimes and fights between men and wild beasts, which are sickening to see, all for the sake of fleeting honor and popular applause? If you are miserly with your money, how can you expect any similar honor? Your reward for the right use of the things of this world will be everlasting glory, a crown of righteousness, and the kingdom of heaven; God will welcome you, the angels will praise you, all men who have existed since the world began will call you blessed. Do you care nothing for these things, and spurn the hopes that lie in the future for the sake of your present enjoyment? Come, distribute your wealth freely, give generously to those who are in need. Earn for yourself the psalmist’s praise: He gave freely to the poor; his righteousness will endure for ever.

Being wealthy is certainly not a sin, but it does come with a responsibility to manage your wealth wisely, taking into account how it will affect your eternal reward.