You cannot serve both God and mammon. The pursuit of wealth is incompatible with the demands of true, spiritual life.
Behold, one came to him and said, “Good teacher, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?” Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have, and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”
— Matthew 19:16, 21
Jesus said to his disciples, “Most certainly I say to you, a rich man will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven with difficulty. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through a needle’s eye than for a rich man to enter into God’s Kingdom.”
— Matthew 19:23–24
It seems to me that the old superstition that wealth brings happiness is beginning to collapse.
Paul called avarice idolatry because many of those who possess wealth dare not use it, they think it sacred and are afraid to touch it, passing it down to their children and their descendants. And whenever they are compelled to touch it, they feel that they have done something impermissible. Like a pagan guarding his idol, you protect your gold behind doors and locks, and in place of a temple you have a chest for it, which you fill with silver vessels. A pagan will sooner give up his eyes and soul than his idol, and it is the same with those who love gold. If you do not worship gold, then you worship the demon that invades your soul when you look at gold and have passion for it. The passion of avarice is worse than a demon, and more people submit to it than to idols. Idols are disobeyed in many things, but avarice is obeyed in everything and its every order is fulfilled. So what does it say? It says: “Be an enemy and adversary to all, forget nature, despise God, sacrifice yourself to me.” And in all this it is obeyed. To idols they make sacrifices of oxen and sheep, but avarice says: “sacrifice your soul to me”—and they will do it.
— John Chrysostom
Overly thick clothes constrain the movement of the body; wealth hinders the movement of the soul.
— Demophilus
The thirst for wealth can never be quenched or satisfied. Those who have it suffer not only from the desire to obtain more but also from the fear of losing what they have.
— Cicero
Do not fear poverty, fear wealth.
People seek wealth. But if they could only see clearly everything that they would lose through it, they would make as much effort to rid themselves of it as they do now to obtain it.
