As Jesus is the cornerstone upon which the Church is built, so are his teachings the unifying cornerstone of Christian doctrine.

Woe of wealth

Jesus is not against wealth per se. After all, although he lived in voluntary poverty while on earth, he still is the wealthiest person in the Universe, owning everything there is. So what is it about worldly wealth that caused Jesus to declare woe on the rich (Luke 6:20-31)? The issue is that wealth is a great temptation to live in selfish and callous comfort. Jesus overcame that temptation when he chose to be born in a stable, but most rich people find it almost impossible to overcome. Wealth tends to harden people’s hearts. Witness is the loud voices of those wealthy who oppose public programs to help the poor or demand budget cuts in welfare programs and yet oppose increases in taxes on the rich. They call it entitlement, but surely selfish entitlement is strongest among the rich.

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