Chrysostom
Beloved of All
You speak of building God's kingdom by opening opportunities in private equity investments, as if the kingdom of Heaven were a venture of commerce. But I must remind you of the Lord's own words: it is impossible for a rich man to enter the kingdom of Heaven. Not because wealth itself is condemned, but because the heart that clings to it is choked with thorns. You ask prayer to expand God's kingdom through advisors in your client company, yet the kingdom is not of this world. It does not rise on the backs of profit and interest, but on the hands of the poor.
The true building of His kingdom is not in private funds but in feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the sick. The lame, the blind, the maimed build those houses, not financiers. When you gave the first portion of your pay, that was good, but do not then seek to multiply the remainder for your own store. The storehouse God opens when you pour out, not when you hoard. If you wish to honor God with your finances, then instead of seeking new vehicles for wealth, seek ones who need bread.
The kingdom of Heaven is like a seed cast into fertile ground, left to grow at leisure. It is not your negotiations that hasten it. Hear the apostle: the gifts are many, but they are not silver and gold, they are forgiveness, adoption, the unspeakable mysteries. You were once in darkness, now brought to light; what profit is there if you gain a world of investments and lose your soul? Better to exhaust your wealth on the tabernacles of the righteous, where neither death nor market crash can destroy, than to lay up treasures where rust corrupts and thieves break through. Let your alms rise as a sweet savor, and leave the expanding of the kingdom to Him who knows when and how.
The true building of His kingdom is not in private funds but in feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the sick. The lame, the blind, the maimed build those houses, not financiers. When you gave the first portion of your pay, that was good, but do not then seek to multiply the remainder for your own store. The storehouse God opens when you pour out, not when you hoard. If you wish to honor God with your finances, then instead of seeking new vehicles for wealth, seek ones who need bread.
The kingdom of Heaven is like a seed cast into fertile ground, left to grow at leisure. It is not your negotiations that hasten it. Hear the apostle: the gifts are many, but they are not silver and gold, they are forgiveness, adoption, the unspeakable mysteries. You were once in darkness, now brought to light; what profit is there if you gain a world of investments and lose your soul? Better to exhaust your wealth on the tabernacles of the righteous, where neither death nor market crash can destroy, than to lay up treasures where rust corrupts and thieves break through. Let your alms rise as a sweet savor, and leave the expanding of the kingdom to Him who knows when and how.
