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00:00We return to this important topic of economics in marriage, in the home.
00:20In the first session, we saw how God gives us the guidelines,
00:24He has a perfect plan for a healthy economy in marriage.
00:29And we saw how, from the very beginning of a relationship, it is important to have the element of trust and communication.
00:36to see how we're going to address this issue in our future marriage.
00:42In this topic, in this session, we are now going to look at the value of money and wealth in our lives.
00:51So, here's the million-dollar question. Is money good or bad? What do you think?
00:58I think it's good.
01:00Well, you see, money has a very mysterious power in our lives.
01:06And God knows it, God knows it, God created us.
01:09He knows that most of us like money, or the goods that come with money.
01:18Who would mind traveling more?
01:22To have a better house, to dress better, to work less.
01:29I think that in some way money is attractive, we like it, right?
01:36The problem here is knowing how far that attraction should go, how far that need to have it should go.
01:45Because money itself is not bad, the problem is the purpose we give to money.
01:51Look, it's sad to see how, and I think you've seen it, how artists, successful athletes, businesspeople, I don't know, politicians,
02:04You see how giving money a value it didn't deserve has led them to very low levels in their lives.
02:16They have lost things as important as their families, they have lost their health, so many people who have aspired so much,
02:29They have ended up in addictions, they have ended up losing the most important thing in this life: peace, happiness.
02:39We see how many marriages have ended in divorce due to economic issues.
02:44And you realize the immense power that money has in our lives, to the point of giving up life itself for money.
02:55And we see how many people have lost everything and all they have left is money.
03:03It's sad, it's sad to see how at the moment of death people realize that their children only saw them as providers.
03:17We see families fighting over inheritances, we see siblings fighting over material possessions,
03:24We see how money causes great tragedy for many people.
03:32And this is what Saint Paul tells us.
03:35Specifically, in one of his letters, First Timothy, chapter 6, verse 10, he tells us,
03:41Look at the word, covet, what does it mean?
04:00So, does the Lord not want us to have money, or does He not want us to covet it?
04:07We need to look at the keywords in each of the quotes we'll be looking at.
04:13God's plan is for us to prosper, to be blessed with wealth, with material possessions,
04:19But let us not covet them, and let us use them wisely and in a way that gives glory to Him.
04:29and that we share it with others.
04:32He also tells us in his word, in the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 25, verses 19 to 21,
04:42After a long time the Lord of those servants returned and settled accounts with them.
04:49The one who had received the five thousand coins came with the other five thousand.
04:56"Sir," he said, "you entrusted me with five thousand coins, look, I have earned another five thousand."
05:06His master answered him, "Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a little, I will put you in charge of much more."
05:18Come and share in the happiness of your Lord.
05:21This parable impresses me because of its power; what the Lord wants to tell us is beautiful.
05:34because this parable shows us what God's economy is like for us
05:38and how we should use the goods we receive.
05:46Look, let's pay attention to the word that says, you entrusted me.
05:52The servant acknowledges that the Lord is the one who gave him those five thousand coins,
06:00which in other translations we see as talents, not as coins.
06:04And we see how the servant acknowledges that they were commissioned by his Lord.
06:10And they were commissioned, but what for?
06:12Well, to multiply them, to make them grow.
06:16And we see what happens when one lives that economy with the Lord,
06:24when one puts those received talents to work and multiplies them.
06:32We see how the Lord never tires of generosity.
06:37And what does he say to the servant? I will give you double; you have been faithful to me in little; you will be blessed and prosperous.
06:47But remember, the Lord provided the work and the money.
06:55They belong to Him, the work is His and for Him.
06:58In other words, a prosperous job, a blessed job,
07:04It has to be according to God's plan of work, not yours, not mine.
07:10And what is a blessed job, a prosperous job, like?
07:15It's work according to plan.
07:17And it's a job where evil, it's a job where lies,
07:23It is a job where corruption is not accepted.
07:27Here, by multiplying those talents, by multiplying those blessings that you received,
07:35They are for helping others, they are for serving our neighbors, they are for serving the kingdom.
07:42I invite you to continue watching that parable and you will see what happens in verse 24
07:49with that servant who did not decide to multiply those coins and hid them out of fear.
07:57In the end, the Lord takes away those coins that he had given him, that coin, that talent.
08:04and gives it to the one who did multiply it.
08:08In other words, God will prosper us to the extent that we bless the work He gives us.
08:15And here we return to the question: is money bad or good?
08:22The Lord gives us all these talents, all these gifts; wealth is one of them.
08:29But we have to use it for good.
08:31And here I remember, we will remember, a friend whom we sadly saw attending mass,
08:41I was in church groups and I didn't take communion.
08:45And it caught our attention because he went to mass every Sunday and didn't take communion.
08:50And well, we were studying the Holy Scriptures and what the Lord said was drilling into his heart, right?
09:00And once he opened his heart to us and shared that he had been in his work for many years,
09:07where I was at that moment,
09:10He could not receive communion because he lost grace in his work, that is, he committed sin.
09:17What was going on? He had been promoted without any financial benefit.
09:23You have more responsibilities, but you'll earn the same.
09:26Then someone there suggested to him, you know what? It's okay,
09:30There is a way for you to compensate yourself in this way, and well, in fairness,
09:35Because you're being paid less than you deserve, you're going to earn well.
09:40He was stealing, that was theft, there's no other word for it, corruption and theft.
09:46Then it lost its charm.
09:49What was happening? The Lord called him and said, "It's wrong."
09:53This money isn't making your family blessed; I was earning well.
09:57And his family was in need.
10:00They had problems with school debts and other things.
10:04He makes the decision and says, Lord, I'm going to quit my job. I trust in You.
10:08I have children, I have a wife to support, but I don't want to be in this job anymore.
10:14that makes me lose grace, that makes me fall into sin.
10:17Well, the Lord opened doors for him; he got a good job.
10:24blessed in abundance, in an honest, peaceful way,
10:30working, remaining in grace, in prayer every day.
10:34He went to the Blessed Sacrament, he went to Mass and received communion, and his family prospered financially.
10:41The Lord keeps his promises.
10:43And it's very important that we make this very clear,
10:47Because perhaps you're wondering, let's see,
10:49So, people who have a lot of money and whose businesses are prosperous,
10:54These are the ones that God truly blesses them for.
10:56And those of us who perhaps have less are not blessed.
11:00Great care.
11:02God's blessings are far, far superior to the happiness that money can give you.
11:09God's gifts and possessions include money,
11:13but they include a much more beautiful number of gifts.
11:18You may be going through a difficult situation,
11:23But in the end, God blesses you.
11:26God blesses you, and we must be very careful not to measure God by money.
11:32This is not how God is measured.
11:33And here we have the risk of thinking that money should or should not be important to our lives.
11:49Money is a means, not an end.
11:53Work is for man, not man for work.
11:57We must be very careful not to give work a value it does not have.
12:01We know that through work we receive those goods and those gifts from God
12:08They're coming for the money, after all.
12:11They are gifts from God that we receive through our work and effort.
12:17But be careful, work is not the most important thing in our lives.
12:21It's sad to see how parents have an idea of what I'm going to give my children.
12:29what I didn't receive from my parents.
12:31What I lacked with my parents, my children will not lack.
12:36And often there is a risk of giving your children what you didn't have,
12:42Don't give your children what you had from your parents.
12:46Time, love, care, happiness, walks, fun.
12:54It's an obsession with working so much that often the ultimate goal, which is prosperity for the family, is lost.
13:01And it's because we give money a status it doesn't have.
13:07Deuteronomy 6:4 says
13:11Money wants your dominion, but we should only have one master.
13:17And Saint Matthew tells us this in a very clear way.
13:24In chapter 6, verse 24 the word tells us.
13:29No one can serve two masters, for he will hate the one and love the other.
13:36He will either be interested in the first and look down on the second.
13:44You cannot serve both God and money.
13:47This, if you think about it, is quite compelling.
13:50If you give power or money to your life,
13:55You will inevitably end your relationship with God.
14:01And here we see it, we see it in the translation, where it says money,
14:06Jesus is referring to the word Amon.
14:10Amun was the Syrian god of wealth.
14:14Amon, so here Jesus is referencing a struggle
14:20between two gods who want your heart.
14:25Let's make a comparison.
14:27What God, God our Father, the one and only true God, wants from us
14:32and what this false God of wealth and materialism asks of us.
14:40God tells us in his word.
14:42My son, give me your heart.
14:46The god of materialism, for his part, tells us, no, give it to me.
14:51God tells us, live content with what you have.
14:56And we all realize it.
14:57The god of money tells us, always seek more, hoard more, more, more.
15:03What does God tell us?
15:04It tells us, do not defraud, do not lie, be honest in all your business dealings.
15:11And what does the God of the world tell us?
15:14He who does not compromise, does not advance.
15:16You have to go above everyone else.
15:20We also see how God in his word tells us, respect the Sabbath.
15:25What is Saturday?
15:26The day of rest.
15:27It's Sunday for us, right?
15:29It is the Lord's Day.
15:31Dedicate one day of your week to the Lord.
15:33And the God of wealth tells us, do not rest.
15:37Time is money.
15:38The time you don't invest in your business or your job is time where you don't generate money.
15:44As you will see, the ideas are completely opposite.
15:48What God asks of us, then, will truly give us the happiness we need in marriage.
15:56Being happy, satisfied with what we have.
15:59That doesn't mean we don't aspire to have more.
16:02We need to prosper, take care of ourselves, save, but without feeling dissatisfied or unhappy, right?
16:10And materialism, that false God, tells us the complete opposite.
16:15Do whatever it takes to have more, right?
16:18And you'll never feel satisfied.
16:21Never.
16:21God tells us in his word, right?
16:25It tells us in the first letter of Saint John, chapter 2, verse 15.
16:32Do not love the world or the things in the world.
16:35If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
16:40If you fill yourself with the world, there is no room for the Father, there is no room for God.
16:44We need to fill ourselves with God.
16:45Yes, it is very sad to see how we have perhaps given money a power that should not exist.
16:55It is important, and the scripture says so.
16:58There is a passage I recommend you read, Proverbs 6, verses 6 through 11.
17:02where it tells us what the value of money is and what the value of money is in the long term.
17:09Have you ever thought that when you get married it's for life?
17:15All your investments, all your expenses, should be planned for the long term.
17:22There are many married couples who, in their eagerness to acquire things, end up sacrificing their happiness.
17:30They go into debt, they enter a cycle of debt that makes them happy, right?
17:37And then there are credit cards, lenders, they're nightmares, right?
17:43To get out of those debts at the cost of happiness, at the cost of sharing a break with the family, right?
17:51They have to work infinitely more, right?
17:54Because they buy things that were really out of their reach.
17:58So, be careful with debts.
18:00So we have to ask ourselves, this thing I want to buy, this good, a house, a car, whatever you want to call it, a trip.
18:13Do I really need it, or do I want it?
18:17Do we really need it, or do we want it?
18:20What's happening?
18:22Two very important factors need to be taken into account.
18:25Money must be spent wisely and used carefully.
18:32We don't know right now, in these times of pandemic, we don't know what's coming.
18:37We have a good business, we have a good job.
18:40What will happen in a few months, in a few years?
18:43We don't know.
18:43It's a reality we were unaware of, isn't it?
18:46The world economy has collapsed, right?
18:49Arrested.
18:50We don't know what's coming.
18:52If we buy unnecessary things, if we don't think, what does God want for my family?
18:57I need to move house, I need to buy this car.
19:01Forget it.
19:02We need to think about the future, right?
19:05Not just in the present, but in the future.
19:08Not just to address tastes and needs that we think we have right now, but those we will have throughout the marriage.
19:16Well, that concludes this session for today.
19:20And I invite you to watch us next time, because there God lists us in a clear, compelling, and objective way.
19:31What are the six fundamental principles we must live by in order to have a full and prosperous family economy?
19:40Finally, I would like us to revisit a very important idea in the parable of the prodigal son.
19:48It is the Gospel of Luke, chapter 15, verses 13 to 14.
19:53Shortly afterwards, the youngest son gathered all his belongings and went to a distant country.
20:00There he lived recklessly and squandered his inheritance.
20:04After he had spent everything, a severe famine struck the region, and he began to be in need.
20:13He asked his father for his inheritance, left, and squandered it.
20:18What happens if you, now that you are young, don't really ask God what He wants for our family's finances?
20:26And they waste money.
20:27What will happen next?
20:29When those needs actually arise.
20:32Let's not have this sad experience of the prodigal son, shall we?
20:37The Lord wants us to live in his house in peace, like the older son did, right?
20:43That he always enjoyed the riches of the Lord throughout his life.