Is it evil to enjoy making and having money?
Dressing up nicely?
Caring for the things that we own?
These are the questions that swirl in my head when I read Mormon 8:37:
“Ye do love money, and your substance, and your fine apparel…”
Gulp.
But then I look around and notice good, righteous people that I admire caring about how they look, creating beautiful homes, and buying high quality things.
The remainder of verse 37 seems to have the answer, though.
“MORE THAN ye love the poor and the needy, the sick and the afflicted.”
What do we love more?
Looking great and making lots of money?
Or caring for the less-fortunate around us?
As with almost every gospel principle, it’s a subject that’s difficult to judge from the outside, looking at others.
There are wealthy people with beautiful homes who open up their house for every occasion, give generously, and love the Lord.
And there are wealthy people who let their abundance turn into fulfilling selfish desires.
There are people who love enhancing their beauty with makeup and cute clothes, but aren’t afraid to get dirty in the name of service, or donate items they no longer need.
And there are people who let their pride keep them from being seen in ways that wouldn’t keep up with their appearance.
It’s okay to seek for a better-paying job in order to create financial stability, to buy new clothes that help you feel amazing, to enjoy your latest gadget that you saved up for…
But it’s when these things become MORE THAN our love for God and our fellow man, that we can’t possibly imagine living without them, that we lose our gratitude and humility…
That’s when they become sins.
So what can we control?
It actually doesn’t matter how much money you have in your bank account, or how many clothes are in your closet, in order to fall victim to LOVING them more than God and others.
Which makes this a beautiful month to use our gratitude to reflect on what we’ve been given from God, and how we can use however little or however much we’ve been given in order to build up the kingdom of God.
Happy Studying!
-Cali Black
4 Responses
I’ve thought about this whole concept a lot and you explained it so well! I agree it’s the whole attitude vs yearning of more wealth.
It’s a super small but super important distinction! <3
There are things that the Church provides for all to become better givers. I have a testimony of the self reliance program. The personal finance portion has helped me become more able to love, and give.
I’ve heard great things about the self reliance program and am so glad that it’s been helpful to you. Loving and giving is really what this gospel is all about.