Hatred of Money

As a true friend and imitator of Christ, Francis, despising perfectly all things which are not of this world, did above all things hate money.  By word and example he urged his brothers to flee it as if it were the devil.  For this maxim had been given by him to the friars that they should measure with one price, dung and money.  Now it happened on a day that a certain layman entered the church of St. Mary of the Porziuncula to pray and put some money for an offering near the cross.  When he had departed a certain friar taking the money innocently in his hand, threw it into the window.  But when this was told to Francis, the friar understood that he was at fault and sought pardon, throwing himself to the ground and offered himself for punishment.  The father reproved him and very severely blamed him for moving the money and bade him lift the money from the window with his mouth and convey it without the hedge of the dwelling and put it with his own mouth on the dung of an ass.  And all those that saw and heard were filled with great fear and from that time forth they despised money more than the dung of an ass and daily they were animated with new examples to condemn it altogether.

                        -Mirror of Perfection Section II, Chapter 14

Francis understood better than most Jesus’ warning about money.  Yes, Jesus cautioned about wealth and possessions, but money itself was a focus on his ire as well.  In the temple, he confronted the Herodians  by declaring their allegiance.  When confronted about taxes Jesus told them to show him a denarius.  A denarius was a Roman coin with the picture of Caesar on it.  When Jesus asked them to show the coin, he was showing everyone that they were bringing images of an alternative god into the Temple area.  It was only a few years before that the whole of Jerusalem rioted because Roman standards were brought into the Temple area by soldiers—but they would allow an actual image of Caesar to be brought into the Temple!  For this reason, among others, Jesus got rid of the moneychangers, because of the images they brought into the place where no images should be allowed!  Jesus said in the temple that the money should rightfully belong to Caesar, because it had his image on it.  But we claim that out money belongs to us, even though the images upon it declare it’s worth only to a government.  Money is a dangerous thing—so easy to worship instead of God.  It is so easy for us to depend on money for our salvation instead of God.  It is so easy to see money as the means of every good thing, instead of God.  Some people try to stop buying for a day a year, or perhaps a few days.  But wouldn’t it be something if we could live as the early apostles and not depend on money at all, but just on our brothers and sisters in Christ?  Not possible, you say?  Is anything impossible for God?  Meanwhile our dependence on money is complete, while our dependence on God waxes and wanes with our spiritual insight.  Money truly is an idol in our lives—how can we be rid of this false dependence unless we confront it?