I think a lot of people want money, power, and prestige

TreeOfLife123 · #1 Jul 22, '12, 9:43 am

I think a lot of people want money, power and prestige. I think that is why they are so vulgar. They are not motivated or moved by the Scriptures. In our society it is very popular to disregard the Scriptures and seek money, power and prestige. Or at least that is true of New York where I am.

So far the only help that I have gotten probably in my entire life has come from people who were either ethical and decent people or Catholic. Not all Catholics are good but they have the most healing presence.

I think I should not seek money, power, or prestige in any way and I should contemplate what the Pope recently said about not seeking such things. The Pope also said to be of true service to others. I don't want to be interested in such things as money, power, or prestige. I want to have no place in the world of such sinners. If I could be happy without money, power, or prestige in any way then I think I'll be fine.

Well I think that's my answer: to have no place in the world of money, power, or prestige!

I think part of my trouble could be from being in a rich metropolitan area of New York. It has an effect to be surrounded by money and people who don't serve other first and instead serve themselves and seek lots and lots of power.

RPRPsych · #2 Jul 22, '12, 11:07 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by TreeOfLife123

I think a lot of people want money, power and prestige. I think that is why they are so vulgar. They are not motivated or moved by the Scriptures. In our society it is very popular to disregard the Scriptures and seek money, power and prestige. Or at least that is true of New York where I am.

So far the only help that I have gotten probably in my entire life has come from people who were either ethical and decent people or Catholic. Not all Catholics are good but they have the most healing presence.

I think I should not seek money, power, or prestige in any way and I should contemplate what the Pope recently said about not seeking such things. The Pope also said to be of true service to others. I don't want to be interested in such things as money, power, or prestige. I want to have no place in the world of such sinners. If I could be happy without money, power, or prestige in any way then I think I'll be fine.

Well I think that's my answer: to have no place in the world of money, power, or prestige!

I think part of my trouble could be from being in a rich metropolitan area of New York. It has an effect to be surrounded by money and people who don't serve other first and instead serve themselves and seek lots and lots of power.

Interesting idea.

But I think not all the three things you mentioned are equally problematic.

Money can certainly be a cause of stumbling for many. But it's the desire for money that leads to trouble, not money itself. St. Paul said "love of money is a root of all kinds of evil", though folk wisdom has distorted this saying a bit. Money can be put to rightful uses, and we are called to be generous with those who have less than us, as well as to be honest in money / financial matters.

Power is also certainly a temptation; one of Christ's three temptations in the desert was when Satan promised him "all the kingdoms of the world". Lord Acton, himself a Catholic, is famous for the saying that power corrupts, and that absolute power corrupts absolutely. But again, people can do a lot of good from positions of power and authority. It's only when we start loving power as an end in itself, instead of seeing it as a responsibility, that we fall into sin.

Finally, prestige is a tricky issue, because culture plays a role. In my country, being an international cricket player carries a lot of prestige; in the U.S., cricket isn't all that popular, and a cricket player would not be idolized. While the person receiving the adulation should not fall into the sin of pride, those doing the hero-worship - including you and me - should also be careful that we are not worshiping the wrong thing.

Gods_Peace · #3 Jul 22, '12, 11:28 am

The constant in this is that they are all craving temporal things that, when used for personal-gain, lead away from God. That is why we need to pray to desire eternal things, to hunger for eternal things, that we use to glorify God, virtue, and a seven fold portion of the Holy Spirit.

MidnightSun12 · #4 Jul 22, '12, 11:53 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by TreeOfLife123

I think a lot of people want money, power and prestige. I think that is why they are so vulgar. They are not motivated or moved by the Scriptures. In our society it is very popular to disregard the Scriptures and seek money, power and prestige. Or at least that is true of New York where I am.

So far the only help that I have gotten probably in my entire life has come from people who were either ethical and decent people or Catholic. Not all Catholics are good but they have the most healing presence.

I think I should not seek money, power, or prestige in any way and I should contemplate what the Pope recently said about not seeking such things. The Pope also said to be of true service to others. I don't want to be interested in such things as money, power, or prestige. I want to have no place in the world of such sinners. If I could be happy without money, power, or prestige in any way then I think I'll be fine.

Well I think that's my answer: to have no place in the world of money, power, or prestige!

I think part of my trouble could be from being in a rich metropolitan area of New York. It has an effect to be surrounded by money and people who don't serve other first and instead serve themselves and seek lots and lots of power.

I applaud your decision and I am also striving to reach a state where I have no care or desire for worldly things.

Of course, money, power and prestige are not intrinsically evil things in and of themselves. Depending on a person's vocation such a person may be called to to be a parent or a priest who will, one day, be given a great deal of power and respect from within their parish/household and this responsibility is not to be shied away from (it would in fact be this person's path to personal holiness to accept such power and responsibility). The important thing to note is that if one acquires money, power or prestige they must be doing it out of a desire to do God's will and not to fulfill their own selfish goals.

God bless!

TreeOfLife123 · #5 Jul 22, '12, 1:21 pm

I think what Pope Benedict recently said is good to keep in mind. That one should seek to serve others rather than seek money, power, or prestige. Humane service in place of money, power, and prestige is a good way to approach things I believe. And Christian.

What should have been services to me have not been real services to me. If money was not an issue in their motivations I think I would be all well by now and they would have offered real quality medicine and other service to me. With money as a factor I'm still not really getting help from them that is satisfactory to my standards. If they were out just to serve rather than make money and have power over other people then the health services would have been much more helpful.

TreeOfLife123 · #6 Jul 23, '12, 7:00 am

I would say money should not be a factor in services to others.
It should be done as a spirit of service.
When money is a factor people get real nasty and offer much lower quality service.
Especially when people are out mostly for money.

child_of_God85 · #7 Jul 23, '12, 9:01 pm

I can honestly say I don't want any of those things. I mean, yes I'd "like" to be comfortable money wise, but it isn't my means for being content in life. What I want more than anything is love and happiness. I want a husband and children. Those are my only goals in life.