WHAT MAKES YOU RICH?

If you want to be rich, you must first learn to be poor. Then you will become rich in everything that truly matters.

It is not property that makes a person rich, but the Spirit.

A man may possess houses, land, gold, influence, and every earthly comfort, yet remain poor in mercy, peace, humility, and love. Another may possess very little and still be rich before God because his heart is filled with faith, gratitude, generosity, and the grace of the Holy Spirit.

True poverty is not simply the absence of possessions. It is freedom from attachment to them. A person may own many things without being ruled by them, while another may own almost nothing and still be consumed by greed. 

Therefore, the struggle is not only against wealth itself, but against the passions that make wealth into an idol.

There are those who humble themselves in the midst of abundant riches, and they act rightly and prudently. They understand that what they possess has been entrusted to them by God, not given only for their personal pleasure. They receive material blessings with gratitude and use them to support their families, help the poor, strengthen the Church, welcome the stranger, and relieve the suffering of others.

Such people are not possessed by their possessions. Their hands may hold earthly goods, but their hearts belong to Christ.

The law of nature is rich enough for everyone. God created the earth with sufficient gifts to sustain human life. Food, water, clothing, shelter, work, friendship, and community are the simple needs of our nature. Yet human desire often goes beyond what is necessary. Once desire is no longer governed by reason, gratitude, and love, it becomes lust for possession.

For nature, enough is abundance. For greed, abundance is never enough.

The body needs only a limited amount of food, but gluttony demands more. The body needs clothing for protection and modesty, but vanity demands constant admiration. A house is needed for shelter, but pride seeks greater and greater signs of status. Money may be used wisely, but greed transforms it into a measure of personal worth.

This is why poverty is not always found in our circumstances but often in our feelings. A person who never believes he has enough is poor, regardless of how much he owns. His poverty lies in the endless hunger of his desires.

Nature is easily satisfied, but lust is difficult to satisfy. Nature says, “I have what I need.” Lust says, “I must have more.” Nature receives with gratitude. Lust compares, envies, competes, and complains.

The more a man gains, the more he may desire to gain. Wealth can then become like a strong drink that clouds the mind. A person begins to burn with a kind of drunkenness caused by his desires. He no longer sees possessions as tools but as sources of security, identity, power, and happiness.

Yet earthly wealth cannot give lasting security. It can be lost, stolen, destroyed, or left behind at death. What remains is the condition of the soul.

Our Lord Jesus Christ teaches us not to store up treasures only on earth, where they are corrupted and taken away, but to store up treasures in heaven. Heavenly treasure is formed through love, mercy, repentance, prayer, humility, almsgiving, and faithfulness to God.

A rich Soul is one that has learned to give.

When we give to those in need, we do more than share material goods. We resist the power of greed. We declare that our trust is not in what we possess but in the providence of God. We acknowledge that every gift comes from Him and that we are only temporary stewards of His blessings.

Almsgiving is therefore not merely a social duty. It is spiritual healing. It heals the heart from selfishness, softens it toward the suffering of others, and makes it more like the merciful heart of Christ.

The poor person who gives a little with love may offer more before God than the wealthy person who gives much without sacrifice. God does not measure only the amount placed into the hand of the needy. He sees the humility, compassion, and faith with which it is given.

At the same time, those who have wealth should not immediately believe themselves condemned. Wealth can become an instrument of salvation when it is used with wisdom and mercy. The danger comes when a person begins to believe that his possessions belong absolutely to him and that he has no responsibility toward others.

The rich man must remember the poor, and the poor man must guard himself from envy. Both must seek freedom from the passions. The wealthy are called to generosity, while those with little are called to trust, patience, and gratitude. All are called to humility.

To become poor in spirit means to recognize that we possess nothing apart from God. Our life, intelligence, strength, opportunities, abilities, health, and possessions are received gifts. Even our good works are possible because divine grace supports and strengthens us.

The poor in spirit do not boast before God. They do not approach Him as if He owes them a reward. They come with empty hands, knowing that they need His mercy.

Such poverty opens the Soul to divine riches.

When a person empties himself of pride, Christ fills him with humility. When he lets go of resentment, God fills him with peace. When he abandons greed, he becomes rich in generosity. When he gives up the desire to dominate others, he becomes rich in love. When he stops seeking glory from the world, he becomes rich in the knowledge of God.

This is the great paradox of the Christian life: by giving, we receive; by humbling ourselves, we are lifted up; by losing our life for Christ, we find it; and by becoming poor in spirit, we inherit the Kingdom of Heaven.

The saints understood this mystery. Some gave away everything and followed Christ in complete poverty. Others kept their possessions but used them for the service of the Church and the relief of the suffering. What united them was not the same outward condition, but the same inward freedom.

They did not allow possessions to become masters of their hearts.

We should therefore examine ourselves carefully. Do we become anxious at the thought of losing what we have? Do we judge others according to their income, clothing, homes, or social position? Do we feel greater joy in acquiring something new than in helping another person? Do we continually compare our lives with the lives of others?

These questions reveal whether our possessions serve us or control us.

Contentment is a form of spiritual wealth. It does not mean laziness or a refusal to work. The Christian should work honestly, care for his household, and use his gifts responsibly. Contentment means receiving what God provides without allowing the desire for more to consume the soul.

A contented person may still seek improvement, but he does not make material success the purpose of his existence. He remains thankful in both abundance and need. His peace does not rise and fall with his possessions.

The world teaches that we become rich by collecting more.

Christ teaches that we become rich by loving more.

The world praises those who accumulate. The Gospel praises those who give. The world measures wealth by what a person keeps. God often measures it by what he is willing to surrender for the sake of love.

Therefore, let us seek the riches that cannot be taken away. Let us become rich in faith, rich in good works, rich in compassion, rich in patience, and rich in prayer. Let us use earthly possessions wisely without allowing them to occupy the throne of the heart.

May we learn to say, “What I have is from God, and what I give is returned to God through my neighbour.”

Then poverty will no longer mean emptiness, and wealth will no longer mean possession. To be poor in spirit will mean to be open to grace, and to be truly rich will mean to have Christ dwelling within us.

For the one who possesses Christ lacks nothing, while the one who has everything without Christ remains poor.

Let us therefore ask the Lord to deliver us from the poverty of greed and to grant us the riches of the Holy Spirit. May He teach us to receive with gratitude, to possess without attachment, to give without pride, and to trust without fear.

Then we will understand that true wealth is not found in what surrounds us, but in what fills the soul.

And when the Soul is filled with God, it is rich in everything. 

With Love in the Lord,
Stella Kamenova